Long-awaited adjustments to prison policies and criminal sentences that are aimed at reducing prison crowding got an afternoon of debate Tuesday as well as pushback from state and county prosecutors.
When senators adjourned for the day, they had advanced two of three bills that make up the core of what many want to accomplish this session to begin reforming a damaged prison system.
A bill (LB605) introduced by Omaha Sen. Heath Mello advanced but with promises from the Judiciary Committee to continue to negotiate a compromise on aspects opponents do not like.
Mello said the underlying premise in LB605 is that it starts the state down a path to move nonviolent offenders toward probation rather than prison, and it increases penalties for some violent and sex offenses.
Proponents hope these reforms reduce the prison population -- now at nearly 160 percent of capacity -- to 140 percent within five years.
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It also is important, Mello said, to give inmates incentives to apply for parole so they are supervised for a period of time after their release. Too many now "jam out," or serve their full sentences and leave without supervision.
The reforms also could reduce the number of offenders who repeat crimes and return to prison.
A lot of work has been done on LB605, Mello said, but a lot remains in order to appease state and county prosecutors.
The bill, which grew out of a Justice Reinvestment working group and Council of State Government recommendations, advanced on a 35-3 vote.
Senators also moved forward a bill (LB598) introduced by Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus to a second round of consideration.
It would require the Department of Correctional Services to adopt rules on how segregation of prisoners would be conducted and for which reasons. About 300 inmates are in segregated housing at this time, Schumacher said.
The bill also would create an Office of Inspector General of the Nebraska Correctional System. And it would set a time frame for ensuring parole board independence by moving primary responsibility for the administration of parole out of the Department of Correctional Services.
Before the day’s debate began, Attorney General Doug Peterson and county attorneys said at a news conference they have particular distress about changes in LB605 that would reduce certain sentences and allow for a so-called one-third rule in sentencing.
The one-third rule allows that if a judge sentences a person to a maximum of, say, 45 years, then the minimum sentence could be no greater than one-third of 45 years, or 15 years. And good time would mean the offender could be eligible for parole in half that time.
The Attorney General's office works with about 1,700 cases across the state in which its attorneys handle the investigations, prosecution and appeals.
"These proposed laws have a significant impact in our ability to carry out prosecutions and get effective sentencing," Peterson said about the proposed changes.
Prosecutors also had problems with a proposed change to the state's habitual criminal law in a bill (LB173) introduced by Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers. As the law stands now, an enhanced penalty of a mandatory 10 years, for example, can be added on to the sentence of a habitual criminal. It's effective in addressing serious felons who haven't gotten the message after two times in prison, Peterson said.
That ability for prosecutors and judges would be taken away by the bill for certain serious crimes, the attorneys said. And there's no evidence enacting the bill would have any effect on prison crowding, Peterson said.
Prosecutors do not believe they are overusing habitual criminal statutes, said Corey O'Brien of the Attorney General's office. Only 182 inmates of the more than 5,200 prisoners are serving habitual criminal enhancements.
"We're using it effectively and keeping people safe as a result," he said.
LB173 will be debated Wednesday.
A number of senators acknowledged the complexity of the prison reform bills during Tuesday's debate and expressed a lack of confidence the bills would solve the state's prison problems.
But reforms are needed to help reduce the prison population and avoid mandates from federal courts and lawsuits by ACLU Nebraska, Mello said.
And they're necessary to keep from repeating the mistakes that led to the tragic murders of four people in Omaha when Nikko Jenkins -- a state prison inmate with behavioral health disorders -- was released into the Omaha community from solitary confinement, even though officials knew he had threatened to kill people upon release.
"Fortunately, Nebraska still has the opportunity to address the challenges and reach solutions on our own terms," Mello said.
ACLU attorney Alan Peterson said he was pleased with the progress and the open debate Tuesday, and with the movement of two of the bills.
"We do understand that LB605 needs additional work, and we're planning to do that work and hoping to settle remaining issues," Alan Peterson said.