Nebraska is again looking at ways to ease prison overcrowding. Nebraska’s prison population increased more that 21% over the last ten years, according to a report by the Crime and Justice Institute that was requested by lawmakers, Governor Pete Ricketts and the courts.
The goal was to identify ways to reduce the prison population. The report shows that long sentences and mandatory minimums are contributing to overcrowding. The report also states that low-level, non-violent felony sentences are given consecutively and the end result is a longer prison stay.
Lincoln State Senator Suzanne Geist has gone over the report extensively and tells KLIN News while there are parts she agrees with, there are other areas she does not. Geist says, “They have plead down their original charges. The judge has seen the body of that work and extended the sentence because that individual needs a longer sentence to stay out of trouble.”
Geist says on her watch, she does not want to take responsibility to pass something that puts public safety and the state of Nebraska at risk. She adds we must retain a known, rarely changing system of sanction and then have a robust, thoughtful system of rehabilitation. That would include drug treatment, mental health care and counseling.
Geist says, “Throughout the report, it will hype how great they think changing sentencing and taking tools away from law enforcement and judges are for public safety. I philosophically disagree with that.”
The report has not yet been released for public review.