Junius Marion Futrell (August 14, 1870 – June 20, 1955) was an American attorney who served as the 30th governor of Arkansas from 1933 to 1937, and the acting governor for a short period in 1913. He also served in the Arkansas House of Representatives and Arkansas Senate including as president of the Arkansas Senate.
Early life
Futrell was born in Jones Ridge in Greene County in northeastern Arkansas to parents Jepthra and Arminia Levonica Eubanks Futrell. The second of three children, he attended the Arkansas Industrial University, now the University of Arkansas School of Law, from 1892 to 1893. After his sophomore year, he taught school in several Arkansas counties until 1896, marrying Tera A. Smith on September 27, 1893. Futrell also farmed and worked in the timber industry before entering politics.
Futrell was admitted to the bar in Arkansas in 1913 and practiced law in Paragould until his 1922 appointment to the Second Division of the Second Circuit Court. In 1923, he moved to the Twelfth Chancery Circuit. Livesay finished the race with 8.9 percent of the vote, less than half his percent polled in 1930.
As governor, he opposed state funding for education beyond the eighth grade, believing the federal government should provide such support.
The Futrell administration established the Arkansas State Planning Board and created the Arkansas Department of Public Welfare. His administration also rescinded prohibition and instituted some legalized gambling.
According to one study, Futrell was Arkansas's "most conservative governor in decades".
After leaving office, Futrell returned to the practice of law.
Death
Futrell died in 1955 in Little Rock and is interred at Linwood Cemetery in Paragould.