“My conversion experience happened while I was in prison
when I surrendered my life to the Lord.”
—Joshua Smith, Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
A year ago, this month, Joshua J. Smith was named a Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), overseeing 122 facilities, six regional offices, two staff training centers, and 22 residential reentry offices. He leads a workforce of 36,000 and is responsible for the care and custody of 156,000 federal inmates.
There wasn’t much news coverage of the event, but it was a pretty big deal, considering that his first experience with prison wasn’t one of managing a federal prison, but being incarcerated in one.
Smith didn’t have a father. At the age of 11, he was removed from his home due to abuse. Over the next five years, he was convicted of 10 felonies and finally was found in possession of a kilogram of cocaine and 150 pounds of marijuana. He was 21 years old and was sentenced to serve a five-year stint at a prison camp in Kentucky.
Smith was a high school dropout and a criminal, yet he knew that his life could be better. During his incarceration, he became aware of the systemic problems in the prison system and the overwhelming need for reform. But more than that, he had “surrendered his life to the Lord,” and he says that the scriptures and the volunteers who gave support to his developing relationship with God caused a conversion in his life that continues today and propels the work he does.
Far from letting his prison experience define his life, Smith’s path since release is nothing short of amazing. The Knoxville-based prison reform advocate also founded several companies in Knoxville. One of them, Master Service Companies became a $30 million enterprise employing many reentrants.
More than anything else, he has a passion for prison reform and has spent the past 15 years actively promoting reform in Kentucky, Tennessee, and parts of Central America. He became an outspoken advocate of rehabilitation and reintegration programs aimed at reducing recidivism rates and promoting policies that support successful reentry into society.
To that end, Smith formed a not-for-profit called “Fourth Purpose.” He says, “Our criminal justice system is shortsighted. Our society is only acknowledging the first victim.“ In fact, over nine years, statistics show that people recidivate at a rate of close to 80%. “Those arrests,” he says, “make for a second wave of victims, then a third.” Retribution is not helping society because it does little or nothing to transform the prisoner. If they focused on transformation, “the first victim [would be] the last victim.”
A footnote to the announcement by the BOP regarding Smith’s appointment, stated:
*Deputy Director Smith's leadership signifies a historic milestone nationwide, as he is the first individual to be appointed to a senior leadership position within the Federal Bureau of Prisons after having personally served time in its custody.
With God, all things are possible,
Jim
