In March 2005, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997 et seq., commenced an investigation into the conditions of confinement at the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center in Arkansas.

Based on its investigation, the DOJ concluded that the conditions and practices at the Detention Center violated the constitutional rights of convicted inmates and pre-trial detainees. To remedy the unconstitutional practices, the DOJ issued a letter on May 9, 2006, advising Sebastian County officials to immediately implement certain measures necessary to provide inmates with adequate medical care, adequate mental health care, sufficient protection from harm, and safe environmental conditions.

In 2008, the DOJ and Sebastian County entered into a memorandum of agreement regarding the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center. The agreement required the Detention Center to improve general medical care, including intake and health assessments, chronic care, acute care, infection control, and administration and control of medication. The agreement also required improvements in mental health care, protection from harm, and environmental health, safety, and sanitation. The Detention Center was required to report semi-annually regarding conditions. The agreement was set to terminate four years after its implementation. There are no other documents regarding this investigation. The agreement ended in 2012.

Dan Dalton - 02/04/2008
Jessica Kincaid - 04/18/2015
David Smellie - 10/27/2016


compress summary