Suit says Nebraska prisons ‘inhumane’

OMAHA, Neb. — The Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union followed through on its promise to sue the state prisons system, accusing it of not taking significant steps to remedy what the group calls inhumane conditions.

The ACLU filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of 11 prisoners against the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, its director, Scott Frakes, and various prison system officials.

The lawsuit takes the system to task for what it calls the excessive use of solitary confinement and gross negligence of inmates’ medical and mental-health needs. It also points to rampant, persistent inmate overcrowding, as well as “dangerous” understaffing.

The lawsuit includes nearly 20 pages dedicated to the specific treatment of the 11 prisoners, detailing among issues the failure to accommodate blind and deaf prisoners and the refusal to approve needed surgery and medication for others.

One of the inmates named as a plaintiff, Jason Galle, was sentenced in 2010 to 45 years in prison for attempted assault on a police officer and other felonies after breaking a vase over a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy’s head. Another deputy shot Galle in the thigh during the struggle.

The lawsuit says prison officials have refused to approve surgery for Galle to remove bone fragments and properly set his fractured femur.

A spokesman for the prison system declined to comment Wednesday morning.