News & Commentary

Many 16-year-olds spend their birthdays with their family and friends. I spent my 16th birthday this past March trapped in solitary confinement.

The last year was a relentless attack on civil rights and civil liberties emanating from the highest echelons of political power and emboldening state and local leaders to act in ways previously unimaginable.
Nevertheless, we persisted, we resisted, and we achieved important progress.

No one should be in jail simply because of the size of their bank account. Yet in Nebraska and around the country, thousands of individuals are simply too poor to pay fines and fees issued by the courts. Practices that were outlawed in the 19th century are still leading to poor people being trapped in a maze that only has one conclusion: mass incarceration.

For a poor Nebraskan in a county jail, one month of calls with your family might cost more than driving to the jail for a visit.

Students of all colors, races, religions, sexual orientations, genders, and immigration statuses need a quality education.

For more than five years, the female jail population has been the fastest growing correctional population in the United States. In Nebraska, the number of women in jail or prison is also on the rise. Yet jails and prisons often fail to address the unique needs of women in these facilities.

After President Obama’s election in 2008, some state legislatures responded to the increased turnout among young people and people of color by attempting to curb voting rights.

So many words come to mind right now to describe how I feel about the loss of DACA: devastation, anger, rage, betrayal, hopelessness, fear, sadness. DACA transformed my life.

Nebraska’s prison conditions are inhumane and unconstitutional, and ultimately, they hurt public safety. We can’t reduce recidivism rates among former prisoners if, instead of being given rehabilitation opportunities, they have been horribly traumatized during incarceration.