LINCOLN - If Nebraska wants to reduce chronic prison overcrowding, well-behaved prisoners should have a shot at earlier parole as a 2011 law intended, says an expert who helped the Legislature craft policies to reduce overcrowding.

“This provision … is beneficial if you’re intending to reduce the (prison) population,” said Len Engel, director of policy and campaigns for the Crime and Justice Institute.

A portion of the "Nebraska good time" law, which was passed in 2011, is the provision in question. After a prisoner serves a year behind bars, prisoners could earn three days off their sentence for each month of good behavior. This would be in addition to the day-for-day credit is already in place for prisoners that essentially cuts sentences in half.

Then-State Sen. Brenda Council sponsored the bill during her time in the Legislature. She, along with the director of corrections at the time Bob Houston, agree the bill intended to let prisoners earn time toward their parole eligibility date. However, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services argues the law as written does not allow for that.

Regardless of the validity of the current interpretation, the law contributes to the state's ongoing struggle with overcrowded prisons. Since 2011, thousands of parole-eligible prisoners have been kept from earning 36 days per year toward their parole eligibility date.

State Sen. Steve Lathrop has proposed bills meant to reduce crime and recidivism, parts of which Gov. Pete Ricketts supports. Ricketts does not, however, agree with Lathrop's proposed changes to geriatric parole, drug possession penalties, and mandatory minimums.

Ricketts has instead urged state lawmakers to fund the new prison that would replace the aging State Penitentiary in Lincoln.

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