LINCOLN, Neb. – The ACLU of Nebraska will testify in support of criminal reform before the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee today.
The committee will hear testimony on four bills, including LB920, which includes recommendations from a yearlong government study of Nebraska’s criminal legal landscape and prison crises.
ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad said this year’s smart justice proposals, including LB920, offer state senators a better option than Gov. Ricketts’ plan for a $240-million prison.
“Nebraskans understand that the fiscal and moral costs of the status quo don’t make sense and neither does shoveling millions of dollars into a massive new prison,” Conrad said. “Costs are skyrocketing, overcrowding and staffing emergencies are expanding and elongating, racial disparities are among the worst in the nation, and recidivism is moving in the wrong direction. These key indicators show us our current approach is not working and in fact it is undermining our shared public safety goals. Other states have found sensible bipartisan ways to improve public safety and reduce reliance on mass incarceration. The modest reforms on the table this year are a great first step in putting us on a better path — one that invests in people, not prisons.”
Last month, the ACLU of Nebraska published “Nebraska’s Statehouse-to-Prison Pipeline,” a review of the last five years of legislative activity on the prison system that included recommendations for action. Several of the recommendations are incorporated in legislation introduced this year, including provisions focused on diversion, reentry and humane release.
The ACLU of Nebraska advocates for a smart justice approach that would reduce the number of people imprisoned, address racial disparities and advance public safety. Learn more at aclunebraska.org/prison.
