Ruling tells circuit court to revisit inmate’s case

The Pulaski County Circuit Court was told by the state Supreme Court on Thursday to again review an Arkansas inmate’s claims the state illegally made him pay for his own incarceration.

In its sole decision handed down this week, the high court unanimously ruled Circuit Judge Chris Piazza failed to address any of the reasons Dexter Harmon gave for why the state shouldn’t be entitled to his share of a settlement in a class-action federal lawsuit.

The federal lawsuit — which claimed inmates detained at the Phillips County jail over several years weren’t given prompt first appearances in court — netted Harmon $7,200 when it was settled in 2015, according to court records.

By that time, Harmon was locked up at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Lee County to serve a 30-year sentence for robbing and beating a store clerk in Sherwood.

The money was deposited in Harmon’s prison trust-fund account, despite his requests it be given to his lawyers.

In early 2016, the state petitioned Piazza to allow the money in Harmon’s account to be deposited in state coffers under the State Prison Inmate Care and Custody Reimbursement Act.

The law allows the state to be reimbursed for some of the costs of incarceration from inmates who have estates while in prison.

In a handwritten response, Harmon asked Piazza to dismiss the state’s request, arguing the state’s attempts to seize his settlement went against state law, previous court decisions and the U.S. Constitution.

Specifically, Harmon argued he had financial obligations to his father for the court to consider. He also pointed to another state law ordering lawsuit awards to prisoners be used to pay restitution before being transferred to the prisoner.

In a brief order delivered in June 2016, Piazza directed $4,418 be transferred into the state treasury from money deposited with the court from Harmon’s account.