The Nebraska State Patrol will do a criminal investigation in to sentencing miscalculations in the Department of Correctional Services.
Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Director Mike Kenney announced Wednesday that some employees are suspended following the sentencing scandal. An Omaha World-Herald investigation found that Corrections officials knew about the miscalculated sentences, and didn’t correct the problem. Hundreds of Nebraska inmates were released from prison early because of the sentencing errors.
Attorney General Jon Bruning is calling for full transparency during the investigation.
"We want the public to know everything that happened, as it happened, why it happened, certainly there were mistakes made, were those mistakes criminal, what type of a mistake were those. And we want complete transparency in this process. The Governor and I are trying to clean up a mess, and the public has rightfully lost some confidence in the process. And the Governor and I want to restore that confidence from the public, and ensure that there’s complete transparency."
Governor Dave Heineman says he’ll send an email Thursday to all Corrections employees, urging them to contact him and Director Kenney if they were told to disregard the law.
No additional details were released about the suspended Corrections employees, or how many are facing discipline.