Joshua Smith
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) has appointed Joshua Smith as the Deputy Director to serve with recently appointed Director William Marshall III. Smith brings extensive experience advocating for criminal justice reform, and has been bettering his community of Knoxville, Tenn. by starting multiple companies and a non-profit called Prison Life Media (previously 4th Purpose Foundation), that donates educational content to correctional institutions. The appointment of Smith represents a first for the FBOP as a someone who was formerly incarcerated at the federal level.
Smith served as a member of the steering committee for The Criminal Justice Investment Task Force under Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee in 2019. Lee would be one of the advocates behind Smith’s eventual full pardon by President Trump in Jan. 2021.
With lived experience, and decades of advocacy, Smith is positioned to work with stakeholders and approach the reform needed across the FBOP.