LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas lawmakers said Wednesday they want more answers about recent lapses within the state prison system, scheduling a meeting at a unit where two convicted murderers recently donned guard uniforms and escaped.

Sen. Steve Faris said Wednesday that the Senate and House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committees will hold a joint hearing Aug. 10 at the prison’s Cummins Unit in Grady.

“I feel like the best way to look at the problem is to go out where it occurred,” said Faris, D-Malvern. “Let the prison director tell us from where the incident occurred what happened.”

The state’s prisons chief appeared before lawmakers Tuesday to discuss recent incidents, including guards leaving a naked inmate covered in his own excrement for a weekend in January. The inmate nearly died from septic shock.

Incidents also included a pair of convicted murderers escaping Cummins Unit in late May after putting on guard uniforms and walking out the front doors.

Faris said he wants prison chief Larry Norris and the Board of Correction to appear before the joint panel.

Faris was one of the lawmakers who had called for a subpoena-based inquiry of the state’s prison system after Norris appeared before a joint panel Tuesday. The state Senate last used its subpoena power in 2008 to request records during an investigation into allegations of voter fraud in St. Francis County.

Faris, who chaired the Senate panel that led that investigation, said he didn’t plan to issue subpoenas for next month’s hearing.

“My intent with this meeting isn’t to subpoena anyone. It’s to first get some complete answers to the questions that were asked yesterday,” Faris said.

Gov. Mike Beebe on Wednesday again said he has faith in Norris’ performance as prison director. He also said he was paying close attention to the Legislature’s investigation. Beebe declined to say whether he would call for another probe if he believed the inquiry wasn’t going far enough.

“I’m not going to speculate on what we might do, other than say that we will follow it closely and as information comes out, we will make suggestions either publicly, or more often than not, privately, about what any suggestions I may have to improve the situation or to take further measures or further action,” Beebe told reporters.