Arkansas

Wil Cheatham

Arkansas State Director for Right On Crime

Appointed as Chief of Staff and Chief Legal Counsel by the Arkansas State Treasurer, Wil Cheatham helped manage an 11-billion-dollar portfolio. His dynamic background in finance and criminal justice was honed as he worked in a terrorist financing unit at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Cheatham is currently a practicing attorney in family law and personal injury and a part time prosecuting attorney in Arkansas' Third Judicial District encompassing Randolph, Sharp, Lawrence, and Jackson counties. Cheatham’s undergraduate degree is in Spanish and criminal justice from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville(Woo Pig!), and he obtained his law degree from the University of Arkansas Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law. Wil began an internship at the Little Rock FBI Field Office focusing on counterintelligence. For the next few years, his career in the FBI took him to FBI Headquarters in Washington where he worked as an analyst in the Counterterrorism Division. In the Counterterrorism Division, he was assigned to a unit focused on terrorism financing. In law school, Wil clerked for Amtrak working in the labor relations department. He also clerked for a national personal injury law firm. Immediately after finishing law school, Wil worked as the campaign manager for then State Representative Mark Lowery’s bid for Arkansas State Treasurer.  As a prosecuting attorney, Cheatham is experienced in prosecuting cases involving drugs and violent crimes. Wil is a native of Bentonville, Arkansas. He is fan of the Hogs, golf, and the Indianapolis Colts. Wil practices personal injury, family law, and government relations.

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Conservative criminal justice and public safety values require a system that holds offenders accountable, protects victims, and makes communities safer. At the same time, effective government means pursuing policies that deliver better outcomes, use taxpayer resources wisely, and ensure the justice system works as intended. Across the states, Right On Crime supports commonsense solutions that strengthen public safety, uphold the rule of law, and improve the effectiveness of our criminal justice system.
In Arkansas, Right On Crime is supporting the elimination of fines and fees imposed on juvenile defendants, a victims’ bill of rights ballot measure, and automatic expungement of charges that resulted in an adjudication of nolle pross. Another priority has been working on alternatives to building another prison, focusing instead on investing in the proven successful re-entry facilities.

WATCH

Right On Crime’s Arkansas Director Wil Cheatham sits down with Britt Allen for a conversation on his background, effective reentry programming, and the current state of criminal justice policy in Arkansas.
Right On Crime Director Wil Cheatham spoke to Arkansas lawmakers in support of SB340 to eliminate fines and fees imposed on juveniles. “Our youth are our most vulnerable population and they have the most potential for rehabilitation.”