Ark. Code Ann. § 16-93-702: Procedures - Required recommendations

(a) Before the Post-Prison Transfer Board shall grant any parole, the board shall solicit the written or oral recommendations of the committing court, the prosecuting attorney, and the county sheriff of the county from which the inmate was committed.

(b) If the person whose parole is being considered by the board was convicted of capital murder, § 5-10-101 , or of a Class Y felony, Class A felony, or Class B felony, or any violent or sexual offense, the board shall also notify the victim of the crime, or the victim's next of kin, of the parole hearing and shall solicit written or oral recommendations of the victim or the victim's next of kin regarding the granting of the parole, unless the prosecuting attorney has notified the board at the time of commitment of the prisoner that the victim or the victim's next of kin does not want to be notified of future parole hearings.

(c) The board shall retain a copy of the recommendations in the board's file.

(d) The recommendations shall not be binding upon the board in the granting of any parole but shall be maintained in a file that shall be open to the public during reasonable business hours.

(e) When soliciting recommendations from a victim of a crime, the board shall notify the victim or the victim's next of kin of the date, time, and place of the parole hearing.