LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are criticizing state corrections officials for not immediately releasing a less-than-flattering report about the causes of a deadly prison riot in May 2015.
Members of a joint legislative committee voiced frustration Tuesday that corrections officials didn’t disclose the report until last month, during a civil trial related to the riot.
The 11-page report by outside consultants contradicts prison officials’ claims that the riot happened spontaneously. The report argues the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution was primed for a riot because of understaffing, stricter rules and a coordinated push by prison gangs. Two inmates were murdered during the riot.
Corrections Director Scott Frakes told lawmakers in a letter that the report wasn’t disclosed because it contained sensitive security inmates. Several lawmakers questioned that claim.
The report cost the state $20,000.