Nebraska’s Proposal to Let some Inmates Out Early Stirs Bipartisan Pushback

Nebraska’s proposal to let some inmates out early stirs bipartisan pushback

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services is trying to create a program that allows some inmates to be released early. The move comes as it grapples with overcrowding and converts one prison into an immigration detention center. It’s already prompting…

State's proposal to let some inmates out early stirs bipartisan pushback — and memories of past scandal

A decade ago, Nebraska’s corrections department allowed hundreds of inmates to leave prison early through a program that few — including judges, lawmakers and the public — knew existed. Corrections devised the early-release initiative as part of a larger, and ultimately scandal-plagued, effort to ease overcrowding in Nebraska’s packed prisons. Leaders scrapped the scheme shortly after probing lawmakers revealed it. Now, as the Nebraska Departmen…