A Tennessee businessman and prison reform advocate pardoned by President Donald Trump for federal drug convictions is now second in command of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Joshua J. Smith, 50, was appointed deputy director of the Bureau of Prisons on June 9, according to a bureau spokesperson. He is the first formerly incarcerated person to hold a leadership position at the bureau, the spokesperson said.
Smith, of Knoxville, became an entrepreneur after he completed a five-year prison sentence in 2003 for marijuana and cocaine trafficking in the Middle District of Tennessee. In 2019, he founded the Fourth Purpose Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to “transforming prisons into places of purpose and personal growth.”
Josh Smith, a Knoxville philanthropist and entrepreneur best known for Master Service Companies, which he sold in 2019.
Trump issued Smith a full and unconditional pardon in the last hours of his presidency in 2021.
Gov. Bill Lee had selected Smith to serve on Tennessee’s Criminal Justice Task Force and advocated for his presidential pardon, according to a post on X from Lee congratulating Smith. Lee wrote he is “confident (Smith will) serve our nation well.”
Two of Smith’s priorities are supporting correctional staff and strengthening reentry pathways for people once they complete their term of incarceration, according to the Fourth Purpose Foundation.
In a memo to staff June 6, BOP Director William K. Marshall, III wrote, “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.”
“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 frontline staff need to do their jobs safely and effectively,” Marshall wrote.
The BOP oversees the custody of 155,818 federal inmates. The agency employs 35,792 people, according to its website.
Smith grew up in public housing in Nashville, dropped out of school in 11th grade and was convicted of 10 felonies by age 16, Knox News reported after Smith’s pardon in 2021.
He served his prison sentence in Kentucky, where found mentors and faith in God. After leaving prison, Smith founded Master Service Companies, sold the successful business and used millions of dollars in sale profits to found the Fourth Purpose Foundation.
He applied for a presidential pardon in 2019.
Have questions about the justice system? Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him with questions, tips or story ideas at emealins@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Joshua Smith, former inmate, named Bureau of Prisons deputy director