LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The director of Nebraska’s prison system says Gov. Dave Heineman wasn’t told about a temporary inmate placement program facing scrutiny from lawmakers.

Director Mike Kenney also defended the program Tuesday in a letter to a legislative committee. Kenney says he alone created the program as part of the roundup of inmates who were released too early because their sentences were miscalculated.

The program allowed five inmates to spend the final few weeks of their sentences at home, as long as they wore monitoring bracelets and reported twice a week to a parole officer.

Some lawmakers have noted a memo by former prisons attorney which argued that state law hadn’t authorized the program. Kenney disputes that argument, pointing to a law that lets the director designate places of confinement.