Nebraska prison report raises concern about long-term solitary confinement

The report, released Sunday by the Inspector General of Corrections, said Nebraska’s prison system has made progress since 2015 in reducing the number of prisoners placed in restrictive housing and the number kept there for more than 6 months at a time.

But the annual report also noted that difficulty making the adjustment from restrictive housing to the general prison population contributed to the death of a prisoner in 2021. The man had spent nearly five years in restrictive housing, sometimes called solitary confinement, before being moved to the Community Corrections Center-Omaha. According to the report, those years in solitary harmed his mental health. 

In restrictive housing, prisoners are locked in their cells for 23 hours a day and have very limited contact with other people. They are allowed out to spend time in a small outdoor enclosure and to shower.

Critics say such conditions can cause or exacerbate severe mental and physical health complications. Extended periods of solitary confinement and lack of supervision after release from prison were cited among the factors contributing to Nikko Jenkins killing four people in Omaha within three weeks of leaving prison in 2013.

In the 2021 inmate death, the inspector general said prison officials had a transition plan for the man but it was not sufficient. The man was able to disengage from mental health services despite signs that he was struggling. There was no indication he had been referred for treatment after testing positive for amphetamines at the community corrections center. 

On Nov. 10, 2021, he broke through the ceiling of his cell at the center and got on the roof of the building. After being coaxed down, his health deteriorated and he ended up dying of a methamphetamine overdose. 

In response, Inspector General Doug Koebernick recommended, among other things, that state corrections officials revise their policy to ensure restrictive housing transition plans address the period after a person is released to a less restrictive setting, especially for those who have been in solitary for six months or more.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services accepted the recommendation, with modifications, earlier this year, according to the report.

One of the two men who is scheduled to be released in December has been in solitary confinement for more than 5 1/2 years of his more than 10 years in prison. He is one of nine men who have spent that long in restrictive housing. The other inmate scheduled for release has spent more than 3 1/2 years in solitary. 

Neither will have post-release supervision. The Legislature eight years ago passed a law requiring post-release supervision of inmates, but it applies only to those convicted of lower-level felony crimes.

On Monday, spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith said the department is taking steps to help the two adjust to the change.

“(The department) takes a multi-disciplinary, individual approach to placements in and releases from restrictive housing,” she said. “It is our goal that no one releases directly to the community from restrictive housing, but that is based on individual risk and is, therefore, not always possible.

“The individuals referenced in the report both have transition plans in place,” Smith said. “In addition, reentry plans will be in place for them. To the extent possible, connections with community reentry providers and others will be made prior to release.”

Smith also noted that number of prisoners housed in restrictive housing for more than six months has been reduced by about 35%, a change that Koebernick’s report said had resulted from steps the department implemented.

A World-Herald analysis earlier this year found that nearly four of every 10 inmates who leave Nebraska’s prisons head out with no parole or probation supervision. Nebraska’s rate of unsupervised release is among the highest in the nation, the analysis found.

Among other concerns in the report:

Staffing issues remain, despite significant pay raises, retention bonuses and other incentives implemented in the past two years. The raises and other steps helped fill vacancies, reduce turnover and bring down overtime hours since 2021, the report said.

But turnover and vacancy numbers inched upward again in the last few months, while staffing emergencies remain in effect at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution and the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln. The report said both facilities operate near or below minimum staffing levels on a regular basis. 

Shortages of health care staff are especially acute. Half or more of nursing positions and behavioral health positions were vacant as of August and the prison system had no psychiatrists on staff. The medical director and nursing director positions are vacant.

Studies ordered by the Legislature have not been completed, including a study of how inmates are classified into maximum, medium, minimum and community security levels. Lawmakers called for the study in 2021 to help determine future needs of the system. The study was to have been completed by March but has not been provided to the Legislature yet. 

Nor has the corrections department provided evaluations of the quality of clinical and nonclinical programs provided to inmates, as required by a state law passed in 2015 and updated in 2022.

Access to information has been blocked since Aug. 16, when Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued an opinion saying that the inspectors general for child welfare and corrections are unconstitutional. The opinion said the watchdog positions, which are housed within the legislative branch, violate the separation of powers. 

Although AG opinions are not court rulings and do not carry the force of law, officials in the executive branch have since restricted the inspector general’s ability to talk with inmates, visit prisons, get information about inmate deaths and look at state records. The Legislature has retained an attorney to look at options for response.