State funds sought for jail death costs

The state would be responsible for certain costs incurred for inmate deaths under a bill heard Feb. 12 by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Currently, counties are financially responsible for the costs of an autopsy, grand jury payments and witness compensation when an incarcerated person dies. LB105, introduced by Syracuse Sen. Dan Watermeier, would transfer these costs from the county to the state if the inmate dies while serving a sentence in a state correctional institution.

Counties should be responsible for paying investigative costs when an inmate dies in the sheriff’s custody, Watermeier said, but not if an inmate was in state custody. That financial burden should be shared by all Nebraska taxpayers, he said.

“LB105 would solve the problem of one more unfunded mandate,” Watermeier said.

Johnson County Attorney Julie Smith testified in favor of the bill, saying a grand jury must be convened whenever an inmate dies in custody.

She said that none of the 20 inmates who have died at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution since it opened in 2001 was from Johnson County or committed their crimes there. In spite of that, she said, the county’s residents have had to pay the costs for each investigation.

“The total cost to Johnson County—just for inmate deaths—since the prison opened in Tecumseh is almost $70,000,” Smith said.

Dick Clark, representing the Platte Institute for Economic Research, also testified in support of the bill, saying the state Department of Correctional Services should pay to investigate an inmate death in a state facility.

“This is something that’s more related to state policy than local policy,” Clark said.

No opposition testimony was given and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.