LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska has formed a legal team for possible lawsuits that would force the state to address prison crowding.
The lawyer's panel announced Thursday will advise the organization on ways to address the problem through the courts.
Executive director Danielle Conrad says decades of misguided policies have created a crisis situation that compromises public safety. She says lawmakers need to look at sentencing reforms among other changes, including the state's use of prisoner segregation.
The Prison Litigation Advisory Panel includes 11 attorneys from around the state.
Nebraska lawmakers have pledged to take steps this year to reduce crowding. The inmate population in December was 59 percent above the total design capacity of the state prisons.
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