Arkansas attorney general announces $100,000 human trafficking grant
Attorney General Tim Griffin's office has received a $100,000 grant to combat human trafficking in Arkansas, he announced Thursday.
Griffin secured the grant while attending a bipartisan attorney general conference in Rome and Vatican City that was organized by the Attorney General Alliance and focused on fighting human trafficking worldwide, according to a press release from the AG's office.
'We are the most effective in our fight against international human trafficking right here in Arkansas when we are maximizing relationships, sharing information and learning best practices,' Griffin said.
During the trip, which was 'at no cost to taxpayers,' Griffin said he met with experts who specialize in 'illicit massage parlors' and invited some of them to conduct trainings and share insights in Arkansas.
Arkansas police announce human trafficking resource in line with governor's legislative goals
In January 2023, Griffin announced the creation of a statewide group to combat human trafficking called Statewide Tactical Operations Partnership (STOP) that was to be composed of representatives from federal, state and local law enforcement.
More recently, Griffin announced in January that four suspected human trafficking perpetrators were taken into custody following a statewide raid called 'Operation Obscured Vision.' The initiative focused on a dozen 'illicit massage parlors' in Jonesboro, Russellville, Hot Springs, Rogers, Harrison and a Little Rock hotel. Officials identified 17 purported trafficking victims who were 29-65 years old, and 16 accepted services from medical staff and advocacy groups that partnered with the operation, Griffin said.
Also in January, just days after the governor cited public safety as one of her priorities for the 2025 legislative session, Arkansas State Police announced a new website that provides human trafficking victims with county-level resources.
Legislators approved a number of laws related to human trafficking during the legislative session that adjourned Monday, including one that would require information about the National Human Trafficking Hotline to be posted in a nail salon or massage business licensed by the Arkansas Department of Health.
Other new laws create enhanced penalties for recruiting trafficked people from certain places, and require those convicted of violating the Human Trafficking Act of 2013 to pay mandatory restitution to victims, among other things.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
05-08-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Death row inmates challenge new Arkansas law allowing executions by nitrogen gas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Several Arkansas death row inmates sued the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives prison officials unconstitutionally broad authority to decide how they should die. Ten inmates filed the lawsuit in state court challenging the law signed this year by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Supporters have promoted the law as a way to carry out executions for the first time in eight years. Arkansas has 23 people on death row. Arkansas hasn't executed an inmate since 2017, when the state put four men to death before a drug used in its lethal injection process expired. The state has been unable to purchase more lethal injection drugs since because of manufacturers' opposition to their use in executions, the attorney general's office has said. Attorneys for the inmates argue the law violates Arkansas' constitution by giving the Division of Correction authority to decide whether to use lethal injection or nitrogen gas for an execution. The law is also unclear on details surrounding the use of nitrogen gas, the suit says. 'This leaves only questions,' including how the gas would be obtained and how it would be administered, the lawsuit said. Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement that his office was aware of the lawsuit and was ready to 'vigorously defend' the new law. Under the nitrogen hypoxia execution method, an inmate is forced to breathe the gas and deprived of the oxygen needed to stay alive. Opponents say the method increases suffering, citing accounts from witnesses to Alabama executions who said inmates gasped and shook during executions. State officials say those are involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation. Arkansas is the fifth state to approve nitrogen gas executions. Alabama, the first state to use nitrogen gas, has carried out five executions using the method since it began last year. Louisiana staged its first in March, putting to death a man convicted of killing a woman in 1996. Two other states — Mississippi and Oklahoma — have laws allowing the method but have not used it so far. Alabama's law is being challenged in federal court. The Arkansas inmates also argue that the law cannot be applied retroactively to them, since they were sentenced to die by lethal injection. Attorneys for the inmates said the lack of details on how the state would carry out nitrogen executions raises the risk of a "gruesome and torturous execution." 'Arkansas juries explicitly sentenced our clients to execution by lethal injection – not gas – and the General Assembly cannot rewrite those verdicts to impose death by this very different and highly problematic method,' Heather Fraley, an attorney for the inmates, said in a statement.
Associated Press
05-08-2025
- Associated Press
Death row inmates challenge new Arkansas law allowing executions by nitrogen gas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Several Arkansas death row inmates sued the state Tuesday to block a new law allowing executions by nitrogen gas, saying the measure gives prison officials unconstitutionally broad authority to decide how they should die. Ten inmates filed the lawsuit in state court challenging the law signed this year by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Supporters have promoted the law as a way to carry out executions for the first time in eight years. Arkansas has 23 people on death row. Arkansas hasn't executed an inmate since 2017, when the state put four men to death before a drug used in its lethal injection process expired. The state has been unable to purchase more lethal injection drugs since because of manufacturers' opposition to their use in executions, the attorney general's office has said. Attorneys for the inmates argue the law violates Arkansas' constitution by giving the Division of Correction authority to decide whether to use lethal injection or nitrogen gas for an execution. The law is also unclear on details surrounding the use of nitrogen gas, the suit says. 'This leaves only questions,' including how the gas would be obtained and how it would be administered, the lawsuit said. Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement that his office was aware of the lawsuit and was ready to 'vigorously defend' the new law. Under the nitrogen hypoxia execution method, an inmate is forced to breathe the gas and deprived of the oxygen needed to stay alive. Opponents say the method increases suffering, citing accounts from witnesses to Alabama executions who said inmates gasped and shook during executions. State officials say those are involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation. Arkansas is the fifth state to approve nitrogen gas executions. Alabama, the first state to use nitrogen gas, has carried out five executions using the method since it began last year. Louisiana staged its first in March, putting to death a man convicted of killing a woman in 1996. Two other states — Mississippi and Oklahoma — have laws allowing the method but have not used it so far. Alabama's law is being challenged in federal court. The Arkansas inmates also argue that the law cannot be applied retroactively to them, since they were sentenced to die by lethal injection. Attorneys for the inmates said the lack of details on how the state would carry out nitrogen executions raises the risk of a 'gruesome and torturous execution.' 'Arkansas juries explicitly sentenced our clients to execution by lethal injection – not gas – and the General Assembly cannot rewrite those verdicts to impose death by this very different and highly problematic method,' Heather Fraley, an attorney for the inmates, said in a statement. Arkansas' law took effect Tuesday, and Sanders in April said she had no timeline for resuming executions and wasn't in a rush.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
Montgomery man sent to federal prison on gun charges
A Montgomery man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison on firearms charges. On July 31, Calvin Craig Griffin, 22, of Montgomery was sentenced to 81 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, said acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. Following his prison term, Griffin will serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court records, on Aug. 28, 2024, officers with the Montgomery Police Department were conducting patrols in the area of Eastern Boulevard and Carmichael Road when they saw an person entering a hotel room carrying what appeared to be an AR-style pistol. Hotel management informed officers that they suspected illegal activity in that room and requested assistance in having the individuals removed from the property. More: Trial date set in kidnapping and murder case that changed Alabama laws When officers entered the room, they identified the armed individual as Griffin. Inside, they recovered an AR-style pistol with an extended magazine containing 63 rounds of ammunition. Because of prior felony convictions, Griffin is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. Griffin pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on April 21. The case was investigated by the Montgomery Police Department (MPD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit, which includes the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, ATF, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, and MPD. Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@ To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery man sent to federal prison on gun charges
