Nebraska's 10 state prisons from least to most crowded
Based on the average daily population in fiscal year 2021, according to the Nebraska Department of Corrections.
82.6% of design capacity
98% of design capacity
107.3% of design capacity
132.4% of design capacity
157.5% of design capacity
168.2% of design capacity
186.1% of design capacity
191.7% of design capacity
193.6% of design capacity
261.4% of design capacity
Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha argued for prison reform recommendations as the Legislature considered a budget bill that includes setting aside funding for a new state prison.
Nebraska prison officials drafted a 2011 law aimed at letting well-behaved prisoners get out sooner. Now the state says the law's wording doesn't allow what the authors intended.
Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, chairman of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, argues for the need for parole and sentencing reforms.
The full Nebraska parole board appears at less than half of hearings. When members miss votes, fewer get paroled.
If Nebraska wants to reduce chronic prison overcrowding, well-behaved prisoners should have a shot at earlier parole as a 2011 law intended, a policy expert says.
The staff members who were hit went to the hospital. One of them suffered a broken bone; the other is being treated for serious injuries.
A man sentenced for sexually assaulting a child out of Hall County died at the Nebraska State Penitentiary.Â
But the judge found there is a substantial likelihood that Angelo Bol's competency could be restored within the foreseeable future.
Daniel Holliday was serving a sentence of 30 to 35 years on Dawson County charges that included two counts of first degree sexual assault.
"Without medical evidence, no reasonable jury could conclude that the providers were deliberately indifferent to Doe’s serious medical need," U.S. District Judge Brian C. Buescher wrote.
Chronic staff shortages that have long plagued Nebraska's prison system have eased significantly, but health care staffing within the department remains critically low, according to the report.
Diane Sabatka-Rine will replace Scott Frakes atop the state's Department of Correctional Services and Doug Hohbein will become Nebraska's interim Fire Marshal, replacing Chris Cantrell.Â
A long-awaited study suggested the proposed 1,512-bed prison should be built with the capacity to be expanded to 2,040 or 3,000 beds to accommodate future inmate growth.
Nebraska corrections employees will receive 3% raises in each of the next two years under a new labor contract agreement, according to the Governor's Office.Â
A Nebraska state prison watchdog cited numerous errors by staff in an incident in which they fired 200 projectiles at a mentally ill, disruptive inmate in an effort to subdue him.
Plans to build a new $350 million prison moved forward Wednesday, despite concerns that it won't resolve Nebraska's prison overcrowding issues, as lawmakers advanced the main state budget bill.Â
Nebraska officials held recent talks on passing criminal justice changes to help reduce the state's prison overcrowding, plus forming a task force to overhaul sentencing laws in the future.
After two years of work, a plan to overhaul aspects of Nebraska's criminal justice system reached the finish line Thursday. In part, the bill is aimed at easing prison overcrowding.
"This is critical to protect them to make sure that they're being protected on the inside," Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne said during final-reading debate on LB50.
AÂ report revealed that women had been raising concerns about the prison's water and its potential health effects for nearly a decade.Â
The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating after a 53-year-old man died while awaiting trial at the Thurston County Jail.
A staff member at the Nebraska State Penitentiary suffered a fractured nose and eye socket Saturday when he was allegedly attacked by an inmate.Â
