Latest report ups ACLU, Ricketts fight on new prison, staffing
According to the civil liberties group, Governor Pete Ricketts must drop plans for a $230 million penitentiary replacement and fix the growing under-staffing problem.
By News Channel Nebraska
The latest Nebraska prison report, which finds workers, guards and other staffers, leaving at an alarming rate finds the ACLU upping its demand that a new prison be shelved.
According to the civil liberties group, Governor Pete Ricketts must drop plans for a $230 million penitentiary replacement and fix the growing under-staffing problem.
Not only has Ricketts rejected talk of shelving a new prison he is also opposed to talk of using the National Guard to staff the prisons.
"Anytime you're using the National Guard here in the state it really is a much more temporary situation, so we're looking for more permanent solutions," says Ricketts.
As NCN recently reported, an independent state investigation found guards putting in long hours, sometimes 24 hours straight or back-to-back 16 hour days for weeks on end.
We’re told one guard fell asleep on the job only to wake up and find inmates holding his keys.
The report notes that maximum security units go unattended for hours, with staff reporting emotional breakdowns on the drive home.
Other workers, who were on the job through deadly riots, say this is the first time they have felt unsafe.