Arkansas state Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville, introduced a bill Thursday that would repeal the state’s criminal “failure to vacate” statute. First enacted in 1901, the law allows landlords to seek criminal charges, which can result in jail time, for tenants who fall even a single day behind on rent and do not vacate a property within 10 days. Everywhere else in the U.S., evictions are exclusively a civil matter.

The legislation comes after a ProPublica and Arkansas Nonprofit News Network article in October revealed how criminal charges brought under the statute can snowball into arrest warrants and jail time for tenants. A deputy county prosecutor who criticized the law, saying it essentially criminalizes poverty, was fired for his remarks.

ProPublica and ANNN found women make up a disproportionate share of Arkansas residents who’ve had charges filed against them during the pandemic, a trend that mirrors past research. A review of the statute’s application in Little Rock revealed 62% of cases in 2012 were filed against Black women (who make up about 20% of the city’s population).

Wilma Young, who was arrested under the statute more than two decades ago and was featured in the October article, said she’s excited about the prospects of the law being repealed. “Nobody else should have to go through that experience ever again,” she said.