In a move without precedent, the federal Bureau of Prisons has appointed a man once incarcerated within its system to serve as its new deputy director.
Joshua J. Smith, a Tennessee entrepreneur and national advocate for prison reform, was named second-in-command this week, making him the highest-ranking formerly incarcerated person in the agency’s history. Smith, who served five years on federal drug charges in the late 1990s, was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2021. Since his release, he has built a successful business career and founded the nonprofit Fourth Purpose Foundation, which focuses on inmate rehabilitation and second-chance employment, writes NBC News.
“Josh brings to this role something our agency has never had before at this level, a perspective shaped by lived experience, proven innovation and national impact,” Director William K. Marshall III said in a memo to staff earlier in the week.
“His firsthand understanding of our facilities — of the tension, the risk and the importance of trust — makes him uniquely positioned to advocate for the resources and reforms front-line staff need to do their jobs safely and effectively,” added Marshall, a former prison commissioner in West Virginia whom Trump selected as BOP director in April.
Smith’s hiring comes at a time when the BOP is under increasing pressure to reform. The agency oversees more than 143,000 inmates across 122 prisons, manages a workforce of over 35,000, and controls a budget exceeding $8 billion. It has also faced years of allegations involving cronyism, staff shortages, and internal abuse.
According to court records, Smith was indicted in 1997 on marijuana and cocaine distribution charges and sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. While incarcerated, he says he found his faith, studied business, and was mentored by other inmates. After his release in 2003, Smith started a multimillion-dollar company that prioritized hiring ex-offenders and launched Fourth Purpose to promote rehabilitation from within the system.
The Trump White House cited his work and faith-based outreach in prisons when issuing the pardon. His clemency had the backing of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
Smith did not comment publicly on the appointment. But after his pardon, he said, “Today is a day of redemption that I attribute to God’s grace. There are a lot of Josh Smiths in prisons across our country, and I am going to help as many as possible find a new purpose.”
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Radical & needed Overhaul Yes
Souds like a challenging Trump move, one seemingly adding to a rehabilitating journey for a convicted and jailed criminal, one seemingly being tapped for a job that this inmate holds a great wealth of insight and experience in and about. The unusual appointment should give Josh Smith prison credibility especially when dealing with a population that he can relate to as a former inmate himself, an appointee that inmates may not easily fool, and one they may be more readily and willing to deal with in a challenging prison environment. Smith is one of their own and that may somewhat help enable some of them to possibly rehabilitate themselves, where and if at all possible. Think it’s worth a try but only time will tell. Trump being more of an innovator here rather than a lock-them-up and through-away-the key overseer. The outcome and degree of appreciation and resentment is and will be debatable.