2025 in Arkansas
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The following is a list of events of the year 2025 in Arkansas.
Incumbents
State government
Events
- February 27 – A legislative panel voted 10-5 to grant approval to a Bill that would allow the state to execute criminals by nitrogen hypoxia, a method first used by Alabama in 2024, and it advanced to the House for further review.[1]
- March 3 – Severe thunderstorms and tornado watches are issued across Southern Arkansas.[2][3]
- March 4 – The Arkansas House of Representatives votes by a majority vote of 67-23 for the nitrogen hypoxia death penalty method bill.[4]
- March 11 – The Arkansas Senate votes by a majority vote of 26-9 for the nitrogen hypoxia death penalty method bill.[5][6]
- March 18 – The Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs the nitrogen hypoxia death penalty bill into law.[7] Arkansas becomes the fifth state in the US joining Alabama, Oklahoma Mississippi and Louisiana to allow executions by nitrogen hypoxia.
- April – The Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs into law a bill that mandates the display of the Ten Commandments and In God We Trust in Arkansas classrooms.[8][9][10]
- May 25 – Grant Hardin, a former Gateway Police chief and convicted murderer and rapist known as "The Devil in the Ozarks", escapes from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock. Surveillance footage showed Hardin walking out of the prison dressed in a guard's uniform.[11]
- June 6 – Grant Hardin is recaptured by law enforcement about 1.5 miles away from the North Central Unit.[12]
- June 30 – Helena–West Helena Mayor Christopher Franklin is removed from office days after his arrest for failing to pay his taxes.[13]
See also
References
- ^ "Arkansas lawmakers give initial approval to bill permitting nitrogen gas executions". Arkansas Advocate. February 27, 2025.
- ^ "UPDATE: Tornado watches issued in south Arkansas as severe thunderstorms move through state | Arkansas Democrat Gazette". www.arkansasonline.com. March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
- ^ "Live Updates: Severe Weather, Tornado Warnings And Watches In Texas, Oklahoma And Arkansas | Weather.com". The Weather Channel. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
- ^ "Arkansas nitrogen gas execution bill clears House and heads for Senate". KARK. March 4, 2025.
- ^ "Arkansas Legislature approves executions using nitrogen hypoxia". March 12, 2025.
- ^ "Arkansas lawmakers approve nitrogen gas execution bill, await governor's signature". March 12, 2025.
- ^ "Arkansas governor signs legislation allowing executions by nitrogen gas". Associated Press. March 18, 2025.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ "Ex-police chief escapes from Arkansas prison where he was serving murder, rape sentences". CBS News. May 26, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ Vigdor, Neil (June 6, 2025). "'Devil in the Ozarks' Escapee Is Caught Near Arkansas Prison". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ Klopp, Harrison (July 1, 2025). "Judge ousts mayor of Helena-West Helena; Franklin responds". WREG. Retrieved July 7, 2025.