Nebraska Enters Third Year of Prison Overcrowding Crisis
As of March, prison populations reached 152 percent of capacity, at a taxpayer cost of more than $38,000 a year for every person serving time.
Landwebs
Nebraska is now in year three of a prison overcrowding crisis after being forced to declare an emergency for violating federal rules limiting populations to 114 percent of design capacity in 2020, reports PNS. Nebraska prisons were operating at 141 percent of design capacity in 2020 when the emergency became official. As of March, prison populations reached 152 percent of capacity, at a taxpayer cost of more than $38,000 a year for every person serving time.
In addition, the latest numbers released by the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services confirms that racial disparities exist throughout Nebraska’s criminal-justice system, which begin long before people end up behind bars. Black Nebraskans make up just 5 percent of the state’s overall population, but represent more than a quarter of the state’s prison population.
