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, p ...

sociologist and

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

who wrote about the American prison system.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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. 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 are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

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 use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

mostly at the Soledad Prison in the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Salinas'') 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 ...

. 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

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

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

, 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. ...

'', 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 life

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