LINCOLN - A year after a data-driven effort to relieve Nebraska’s prison overcrowding crashed and burned, some lawmakers are hopeful of resurrecting criminal justice reform in the 2023 Nebraska Legislature.

State Sen. Justin Wayne, an Omaha attorney who appears in line to become the new chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which deals with criminal justice issues, has already had some initial talks with senators on both sides of last spring’s debate in hopes of finding the common ground that eluded them then.

And the problem certainly hasn’t gone away. With some 44% more prisoners than it’s designed to hold, Nebraska’s prison system has not only been the most overcrowded in the country, but also the nation’s fastest-growing.

Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln, who led opposition in the Legislature to criminal penalty changes during the 2022 session, has said she still believes the two sides can reach some kind of agreement going forward.She said one of the flaws of the 2022 bill was that the programs intended to create alternatives to prison were not well-developed.

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