The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, November 20, 1998, Page 3, Image 3

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    Diversity
a concern
MINORITY from page 1
UNL’s recruitment days weren’t as
effective, Routh said.
Individual colleges are also step
ping up efforts to improve minority
recruitment and retention, he said.
Other minority group numbers
reported Monday woe correct
American Indian students’ enroll
ment has decreased 2.3 percent since
1996, Hispanic students’ has
decreased 5.8 percent and Asian stu
dents’ has increased about 0.8 percent
The white undergraduate student
population has decreased about 6.3
percent since 1996. These numbers do
not include non-American students.
Harris said the university needed
to increase retention in every group on
campus, not just black students.
“The bottom line for us is to do our
best to keep our students on campus,”
he said
“We don’t want any student to
leave die university for any reason.”
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Stenberg: Return criminals to jail
By Todd Anderson
Senior staff writer
Criminals convicted of second
degree murder and given shorter sen
tences by the Nebraska Supreme
Court in 1994 may still have to serve
their original court sentences,
Nebraska Attorney General Don
Stenberg announced Thursday.
Nevertheless, Stenberg said he
was disappointed with the Nebraska
Supreme Court’s decision not to con
sider the case he requested that would
have affected the sentencing of 40 sec
ond-degree murder offenders.
In a 1994 second-degree murder
case known as the Myers case, the
Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that
malice must be alleged and proven,
despite the Legislature’s earlier repeal
of die requirement.
Consequently, 132 convicts had
their sentences reduced, and 21 have
been released from prison since then.
In August, the courts overruled the
1994 decision without ruling on
whether to restore the original sen
tences.
Stenberg filed a request in
September, asking the court to decide
the status of those 21 criminals with
reduced sentences.
i
But die court declined to hold the
request until a later time, thereby leav
ing that question unanswered.
“At least 20 of those second
degree murderers are on the streets
right now, and 20 more will be on the
streets sooner than under their original
convictions unless the courts act to
prevent it,” Stenberg said.
He said he had hoped the
Nebraska Supreme Court would make
a quick decision to reinstate the crimi
nals to safeguard public security and
to expedite die process.
The request for a decision would
have affected die sentence of all 40 of
the criminals with reduced sentences.
“Now these various cases will
have to be brought in several state dis
trict courts across the state of
Nebraska, with appeals ultimately
back to the Nebraska Supreme Court.”
Stenberg said it may take years and
cost more money to rule on die crimi
nals’ sentences, which may end up in
the U.S. Supreme Court. He said his
office would assist county attorneys
by providing records and materials.
“As far as public safety is con
cerned, we can only hope and pray that
the various murderers who now wan
der our streets will not commit further
crimes of violence while these cases
are litigated.”
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