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Parole head says she was pressured to parole more

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The chairwoman of Nebraska's parole board says a former prisons director pressured her into paroling more inmates in an effort to reduce crowding.Esther Casmer testified under subpoena Tuesday that some inmates were paroled even though they hadn't completed mandatory programming to treat anger management, addictions and other problems.

Casmer told a legislative committee that the board's role as a public-safety gatekeeper became compromised in 2008, when former corrections director Bob Houston started pushing to release more prisoners.

Casmer also says the governor's chief-of-staff, Larry Bare, told her and another board member that they should "be concerned about losing your jobs for not paroling enough people."

Casmer was appointed by Gov. Dave Heineman in 2005. A spokesman for the governor says he will respond as soon as he can.

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