LINCOLN- Later this month, Director of Corrections Scott Frakes is leaving his $255,000-a-year position to retire after 40 years in corrections.

During his tenure, the Nebraska prison system was rocked by two deadly riots at Tecumseh, and prisoner overcrowding in the state has risen to the highest in the nation.

However, Nebraska's prison system has also seen a few positives. Wages for security staff have increased since Frakes joined on, easing fears of "staffing emergencies." Around 808 new beds have also been added in Nebraska, and upgraded sentence calculations have been put in place to ensure that every inmate serves the correct amount of time.

As Frakes prepares to leave, the state is preparing to approve a new 1,500-bed prison in eastern Nebraska to replace the derelict State Penitentiary.

Gov. Ricketts, who hired Frakes in 2015, called the director a "highly effective leader," and applauded the work Frakes has done since joining the Nebraska prison system.

Despite this, some in Nebraska have argued that Frakes did not work fast enough to solve some of the most pressing issues in the Nebraska prison system. The prison overcrowding problem is still haunting Nebraska, and sentencing reforms recommended by experts went unheeded by Frakes. These same experts argued that the building of the 1,500-bed prison will do nothing to allay the overcrowding problem.

Frakes, in response to these critiques, still believes he's leaving the prison system in better shape than when he arrived, especially in regard to staffing and morale. However, Frakes pointed out that the Nebraska prison system still has a long way to go, pointing out that mental-health experts must still be hired to treat the state's 5,500 inmates.

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