John Keith Irwin (May 21, 1929 – January 3, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sociologist and

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

who was known internationally as an expert on the

American prison system Incarceration in the United States is a primary form of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceratio ...

.San Francisco Chronicle. "Irwin, John." Wednesday, January 6, 2010
He published dozens of scholarly articles and seven books on the topic.

Early life and education

Irwin was raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 1952, he robbed a

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

and served a five-year prison term for

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

mostly at the

Soledad Prison Correctional Training Facility (CTF), commonly referenced as Soledad State Prison, is a state prison located on U.S. Route 101, north of Soledad, California, adjacent to Salinas Valley State Prison. Facilities The institution is divided into ...

in the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River (Califo ...

. He finished a semester in college via correspondence. After his release he earned a bachelor's degree at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in Sociology from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. Irwin later became a professor and chaired the Meagan Coveney sociology department at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

, where he taught for 27 years until his retirement.Fagan "Criminal Turned Criminologist John Irwin Dies
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', January 7, 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2016.The Sentencing Project. "John Irwin: Scholar, Activist, Convict Criminologist." January 5, 2010.

Career

In 1967 Irwin founded Project Rebound, a program which helps those coming out of prison go to college. Irwin co-founded the Prisoners Union in 1971, which organized inmates to push for their civil rights and worked closely with the California legislature on the Uniform Sentencing Act passed in 1976.Richards, Stephen C., et al. "John Irwin 1929 - 2010." Convict Criminology. January 5, 2010.
/ref> At a panel presentation at the American Society of Criminology’s annual conference in 1997, Irwin helped officially establish the Convict Criminology movement, in which convicts who became professors critically examine the

criminal justice system Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. In 1985 he received the August Vollmer award from the

American Society of Criminology The American Society of Criminology (ASC) is an international organization based on the campus of Ohio State University whose members focus on the study of crime and delinquency. It aims to grow and disseminate scholarly research, with members wo ...

Death

Irwin died on January 3, 2010, at the age of 80.

Personal

Irwing was survived by his daughters Professor Katy Irwin, Anne, Jeanette, son Johnny and wife of 38 years, researcher Marsha Rosenbaum.

Bibliography

*1970 - ''The Felon'' () *1971 - ''The Struggle for Justice'' *1973 - ''The Ex-Prisoner' (book chapter co-authored with Don Spiegel in ''Outsiders USA'' () *1980 - ''Prisons in Turmoil'' () *1985 - ''The Jail: Managing the Underclass in American Society'' (, 2nd ed. with new foreword by Jonathan Simon 2013, ) *2000 - ''It's About Time: America's Imprisonment Binge'' () *2004 - ''The Warehouse Prison: Disposal of the New Dangerous Class'' () *2009 - ''Lifers: The Long Road to Redemption'' ()

References

External links

Project ReboundJohn Irwin: scholar, activist, convict criminologist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, John Keith 1929 births 2010 deaths American sociologists Prisoners and detainees of California San Francisco State University faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni