Tecumseh riot reinforces need for changes to system

Some McCook residents were disappointed when Tecumseh was chosen for a new state penitentiary after local officials mounted what they felt was the top proposal for the new facility.

Most of us were happy to accept what some saw as a consolation prize, with the establishment of the Work Ethic Camp here instead.

The smaller facility was a better fit for our community, we editorialized at the time, and we were enthusiastic about the prospect of the facility helping offenders turn their lives around for a successful return to society.

They say something about a road being paved with good intentions, and that's just what happened with the Work Ethic Camp.

Since it was established, the Nebraska prison system has reached 160 percent of design capacity, miscalculated sentences saw prisoners released too early and a nmber of corrections officials are gone as a result.

McCook can take slim solace in the fact Sunday's prison riot took place in Tecumseh instead of McCook.

When it was over, two prisoners serving long sentences for child sexual assault were found dead.

Tecumseh is actually less overcrowded, at 106 percent, than the rest of the prison system, but because of the damage, it may be a while before things return to nomal there.

During the riot, a couple of hundred of about 1,000 inmates took control of two of the four housing units, broke windows, tore down a wall dividing the housing units and removed security cameras.

Some prison staff barricaded themselves in officies and it was 11 hours before authorities regained control.

The overcrowding and rioting are just another reminder that we send too many people to prison for too many of the wrong reasons.

Community corrections, substance abuse and mental health treatment and programs like those the Work Ethic Camp was designed to offer will be better investments in the long run.