NEBRASKA- In a packed hearing room on Wednesday, person after person — corrections corporals, a librarian, a lieutenant, a parent of an inmate, a nurse, caseworkers, staff members who’ve resigned and others — gave powerful testimony of what record-high vacancies and other troubling issues at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services have meant for their daily work, safety and inmates’ lives.

“Decreases in staff have always led to violence; they’ve always led to death,” said Jeff Seeley, a lieutenant at the prison in Tecumseh. “We have to do something about it.”

Lawmakers on the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee listened and asked questions. Those who testified detailed emergency lockdowns that keep inmates in their cells and away from rehabilitative programming, legitimate fears for safety, low wages, increases in drugs and other contraband, and an illogical decision-making structure.

The forum was scheduled to accommodate shift changes at the facilities, offering workers a chance to come share their experiences after shift-change at 7 p.m. The situation, many emphasized, is urgent.

“This is our Hail Mary pass,” said Cpl. Chris Bergner, who said he’s bused from Omaha to work at the state penitentiary in Lincoln. Bergner told The World-Herald that, just the day before, he had worked an 18-hour shift.

Rhonda Wilson said her son is in the general population at Lincoln Correctional Center but was locked in his cell for 2½ weeks straight. He wasn’t let out for showers or to talk to his young son. She’s concerned for his mental and physical health.

“It’s barbaric,” she said. “It’s inhumane.”

Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha asked nearly every — if not every — person who testified whether a new prison would be a solution or good idea. Some said it could help or is necessary, but nearly all also said there’s no way it could be adequately staffed under the current conditions. Others rejected the idea outright.

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