Thomas Mathiesen, born 1933, is professor of sociology of law, University of Oslo, Norway. Mathiesen has done extensive research in prisons, and is also engaged in media sociology and the sociology of power. Six of his books are out in English, among them The Politics of Abolition (1974), Silently Silenced (2004) and Prison on Trial, third edition (2006). He is a co-founder of KROM – The Norwegian Association for Penal Reform, where he is still active.
