A former federal prisoner pardoned during President Donald Trump’s first term for drug trafficking crimes has been picked to be deputy director of the Bureau of Prisons.
Joshua J. Smith, a Tennessee businessman whose nonprofit Fourth Purpose Foundation focuses on inmate advocacy and rehabilitation, will become the first former federal inmate to be a Bureau of Prisons employee at any level, NBC News reported Friday.
“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,” Prisons Director William Marshall III told staff Thursday in a memo, according to NBC News.
Marshall, a former prison commissioner in West Virginia, was sworn in as director in April. Neither his position nor Smith’s require Senate confirmation.
“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,” Marshall said.
Smith spent five years in federal prison in Kentucky for his involvement in drug trafficking. Upon his release in 2003, he founded a multimillion-dollar waterproofing and foundation company in London, Kentucky, before moving it to Knoxville, Tennessee. Smith sold the company in 2019 to pursue his passion for prison reform, when he started Fourth Purpose, according to the foundation’s website.
Smith applied for a pardon in 2019, obtaining letters of support from Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee; Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.; Tony Parker, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Corrections; and David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, according to the Knoxville News.
Trump granted the pardon on his last day in office, according to NBC News, citing Smith’s dedication to “his faith and to his community,” founding Fourth Purpose and mentoring “incarcerated individuals.”
Smith declined to comment to NBC News, but Fourth Purpose said on its website “his approach won’t be slow or abstract.”
“Josh believes in results, and he believes they start with staff,” the foundation said. “These are the people who carry the weight of the system, and his commitment is to make sure they’re heard, supported, and equipped.
“In this new role, he’ll be focusing on reentry, strengthening the pathways that help individuals leave prison prepared, supported, and connected to purpose. He understands from personal experience that what happens in the final months of incarceration can determine the next decade of someone’s life.”
The Bureau of Prisons in recent years has been roiled by accusations of cronyism and corruption, widespread staffing shortages, and violence and misconduct in prisons, NBC News reported. Its leadership must manage an $8 billion-plus budget, more than 143,000 federal inmates across 122 prisons, and a workforce of more than 35,000 as the Department of Justice’s largest employer.
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