Sentencing reform task force recommends in-depth review of improving prisoner success after release

Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln. (Rebecca S. Gratz for Nebraska Comptroller)

LINCOLN — A working group seeking a “Nebraska way” to reduce prison overcrowding and prevent inmates from recidivism is calling for a “deeper look” to improve post-release supervision and reduce the number of inmates serving short sentences.

The Nebraska Sentencing Reform Working Group, created under the 2023 criminal justice act, released its annual report in November, calling for more study on possible reforms with a view to submitting proposals during the 2026 legislative session.

Task force members expressed differing views on whether meaningful reforms should be adopted.

Term-limited State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha said as task force members worked together: “Now it’s come down to politics, I don’t know if we’re going to have a strong enough will to get something.” It’s done.”

Wayne, chairman of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, has long argued that doing nothing would mean the state would have to build not one but two prisons costing more than $350 million to accommodate the expected increase in inmates by 2030.

Facility master plan

A. The Nebraska Department of Corrections’ Facilities Master Plan, released in 2023, stated that Nebraska’s prisons will have 1,300 more inmates than designed upon completion of a new 1,500-bed facility north of Lincoln.

Dewberry, the consultant who prepared the master plan, said a second new prison would be needed by 2030.

Meanwhile, a report earlier this year by the Justice Research Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha said the state could avoid building a second new prison if “gig workers” serve their sentences in county jails or are instead sentenced to other alternatives. rather than go to jail.

In February, the Nebraska Department of Corrections joined a national effort called Reentry 2030 to reduce the state’s recidivism rate from 28% to 18% by 2030. Goals include increasing participation in education and rehabilitation programs and ensuring that inmates are placed in jobs after they finish their lives. sentenced to imprisonment or released on parole.

Another task force member, Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson, said he was optimistic that effective reforms could be adopted.

He said he would support looking at how Texas deals with inmates serving short sentences in state-run “county jails” and said providing inmates with marketable job skills is crucial.

“We will never break this cycle of crime unless we give inmates the skills to live dignified lives,” Hanson said.

“Everyone recognizes that what we need is more options, both on the front end (probation and diversion) and the back end (parole and post-release supervision),” he said.

Rocky history full of reforms

Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney, who co-chairs the task force with Attorney General Mike Hilgers, said he shares Wayne’s concerns but remains hopeful despite recent setbacks in sentencing reform proposals.

“It’s the only way I can keep my sanity,” McKinney said of his optimism. “The data (on sentencing reform) was available, but people didn’t trust it.”

Of course, Nebraska’s history with sentencing reform is rocky.

Two nationally recognized authorities on reducing prison overcrowding are the Council of State Governments Justice Center and nonprofit Crime and Justice Institute, In recent years, we have carried out extensive studies and proposed changes in sentencing to reduce costs and overcrowding in prisons.

But most of the recommendations were rejected by state lawmakers as “soft on crime.”

This has led reform advocates like McKinney and Wayne to state that if no changes are made, Nebraska will be forced to build a new, expensive prison like the 1,500-bed facility currently rising just north of LIncoln.

As of this summer, there were about 1,800 more inmates in state prisons than planned to be housed, and Nebraska continues to have one of the most overcrowded prison systems in the country.

The most recent recommendations, rejected in 2023, led to the amendment of Bill 50 to create a sentencing reform task force. He was accused of devising a “Nebraska method” to reduce the prison population and improve outcomes for prisoners returned to society.

In recent months, the task force has taken testimony from state correctional officers, parole and probation officials, as well as correctional facility staff, former inmates and crime victims.

More than 90 percent will be released from prison

Improving reentry success is important because more than 90% of all prison inmates will eventually leave prisons.

According to the latest state data, more than 28 percent of prisoners released within three years will commit new crimes, sending them back behind bars. This “recidivism rate” has fallen from a high of 31% in 2017.

The task force report noted that treating inmates’ mental illnesses remains a major challenge. About 1,709 inmates in Nebraska state prisons, about 29% of all inmates, have a serious mental health illness ranging from major depressive disorder and schizophrenia to bipolar disorder, the report said.

Improving care could help reduce recidivism, the report said.

The 16-page task force report recommended a “deep dive” into two areas in particular:

• How can the success of post-release supervision, such as parole, be increased by providing departing inmates with better quality jobs and housing and by preparing them for menial tasks such as paying bills and managing leases?

• How to better deal with “gig workers,” or inmates serving less than a year in state prison. “This population places a significant burden on the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln, one of the state’s most overcrowded facilities where short-sentence inmates are held.” According to the latest statistics, the RTC was holding approximately 1,477 inmates per night, well beyond its design capacity of 884.

The report recommended looking at alternatives to prison, such as ankle monitors and home confinement, or having people serve time in county jails.

Hanson said it’s a balancing act: providing rehabilitation to inmates who truly want to turn their lives around while protecting the public.

‘Many moving parts’

McKinney, who was recently re-elected to a second four-year term in the North Omaha district, said he plans to introduce bills in the 2025 session to “keep the debate on sentencing reforms alive.”

The task force report stated that once another study is completed, the task force may have recommendations to present in the 2026 legislative period.

Hanson said sentencing reform is complex “with a lot of moving parts,” so it takes time to develop proposals.

McKinney added that extra time could increase understanding of the issues.

“People want to spend more time and get to a space where they can understand,” he said, adding that most of his suggestions are “an uphill climb.”

Wayne, who will leave office in January, said he is not optimistic because he sees the Legislature taking a more “pro-prosecutor” stance.

Lincoln Sen., a former assistant district attorney. Carolyn Bosn is seen as a possible new chair of the Judiciary Committee, which drafts criminal justice recommendations. He will be the first prosecutor to undertake this task in recent years.

In the past, Judiciary Committee chairmen have been defense attorneys such as Senators Steve Lathrop, Brad Ashford and Kermit Brashear.

Bosn did not respond to telephone messages left by the Inspector General on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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