'Hardin Should Not Have Been There': Lawmakers Dig Into Prison Failures After Calico Rock Escape

'Hardin should not have been there': Lawmakers dig into prison failures after Calico Rock escape

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas lawmakers are demanding answers after a convicted murderer and rapist, Grant Hardin, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock in May. The incident has exposed widespread protocol failures, security loopholes and technological flaws in the Department of Corrections’ classification and gate systems. Hardin, whose classification as a medium-security inmate has now been confirmed as a mistake dating back to 201…

Division of Arkansas Correction says escaped murderer shouldn't have been in Calico Rock prison

On Monday, Division of Correction Director Dexter Payne answered questions about the escape of inmate Grant Hardin earlier this year.

Arkansas lawmakers told escaped murderer should have been in higher security prison

Sen. Tyler Dees (R-Siloam Springs) asks a question during a meeting on Grant Hardin's escape from the North Central Unit, taken on Aug. 11, 2025. (Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)An automated inmate classification system incorrectly identified a former police chief and convicted murderer as a medium-risk prisoner for “five to six” years, Arkansas Division of Correction Director Dexter Payne told a legislative panel Monday. Grant Hardin — a convi…

Corrections chief says Grant Hardin was misclassified, shouldn’t have been at Calico Rock | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A former police chief serving time for rape and murder who walked away from a state prison was incorrectly classified and shouldn't have been at that prison, the head of the Arkansas prison system said Monday.