Convict Criminology, Prisoner Reentry and Public Policy Recommendations *

Stephen C. Richards, PhD, is an ex-convict now Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. His work has appeared in numerous academic journals. The author of five books, his most recent books include Behind Bars: Surviving Prison (2002), Convict Criminology (2003) and Beyond Bars (with Jeffrey Ian Ross) (2009). Richards is a Soros Senior Justice Fellow and member of the American Society of Criminology National Policy Committee. He is lead organizer of the Convict Criminology Group.

Jeffrey Ian Ross, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Forensic Studies, and a Fellow of the Center for International and Comparative Law at the University of Baltimore. He has researched, written, and lectured on national security, political violence, political crime, violent crime, corrections and policing for over two decades. Ross’ work has appeared in many academic journals and books, as well as popular outlets. He is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of thirteen books including Behind Bars: Surviving Prison, Convict Criminology, Special Problems in Corrections, and Beyond Bars: Rejoining Society After Prison. 

Greg Newbold, PhD, is an ex-convict and Professor of Sociology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His MA, on the social organization of a maximum-security prison, was completed while he was serving a 7½ year sentence for drug dealing at New Zealand’s maximum security prison at Paremoremo, Auckland. He studied for his PhD after he was released in 1980. Since then he has published seven books and more than 60 scholarly articles. Currently regarded as New Zealand’s leading authority on corrections, he is frequently sought by media and government agencies for advice on matters relating to crime and criminal justice. 

Michael Lenza, PhD, is an ex-convict who is now an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He has published on the death penalty, research ethics, medical marijuana, a historical political view of the development of mass incarceration in the USA, as well as theory and research methods. He is currently working on the institutional foundations of violence in the American context, and utilizing postmodern auto-ethnographic theory and methods to provide voice to prisoners. 

Richard S. Jones, PhD, is an ex-convict now Professor of Sociology at Marquette University. He is the author of the books Doing Time: Prison Experience and Identity (with Tom Schmid) and Global Perspectives on Re-entry (with Ikponwosa O. Ekunwe).  He has also published in the areas of prison experience, social identity and the problems of reentry faced by previously incarcerated individuals.

Daniel S. Murphy, PhD, is an ex-convict now Associate Professor in the Department of Justice and Criminal Studies, Appalachian State University. He has published many peer-reviewed articles and a recent book delineating an expansion of Robert K. Merton’s work on strain/anomie theory. He is an active member of the Convict Criminology group as well as co-chair of the Federal Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants’ (FedCURE) Legislative Action Committee.  He also serves as a member of FedCURE’s Board of Directors.  

Bob Grigsby, BA, is an ex-convict and independent researcher and policy analyst who is currently working as the education and social policy director for the Center for Social Justice Policy in the United States. He is a lecturer, as well as a facilitator of workshops and seminars on contemporary issues of crime and criminology.  Bob is the web administrator for the Convict Criminology Group, co-authoring a number of articles and book chapters with its members.