A large shakeup is coming to the Federal Bureau of Prisons pinch the departure of Josh Smith arsenic Deputy Director
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is losing 1 of the astir unconventional leaders successful its history.
Joshua J. Smith, Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), announced that he is stepping down conscionable complete a twelvemonth aft taking the position. Smith joined the BOP successful June 2025, becoming the first personification who had served clip successful national situation to later clasp specified a elder activity position successful the agency.
His tenure was short, but it was thing but uneventful.
Alongside BOP Director William K. Marshall III, Smith became portion of a activity squad that pushed an agency known for incremental alteration toward a decidedly different guidance philosophy. During their clip together, the Bureau changed really it selected leaders, challenged its longstanding narration pinch the national representing BOP employees, began rewriting decades-old policies, secured important backing to reside deteriorating prisons, created teams to onslaught infrastructure and operational problems and announced the closure aliases restructuring of respective institutions.
Smith brought thing other to the occupation that could not beryllium recovered connected the résumé of immoderate erstwhile BOP Deputy Director.
He knew what it was for illustration to beryllium a national prisoner.
A Sudden Departure
Marshall announced Smith's departure successful a little connection today, thanking his lawman but providing nary mentation for the resignation.
“On behalf of the Bureau, I want to convey Josh for his work and contributions and wish him and his family each the champion successful the future,” Marshall wrote.
Marshall added that the Bureau remains focused connected protecting nationalist safety, operating safe and unafraid institutions and supporting its labor and those successful its custody.
Smith's ain announcement was considerably much personal. In a lengthy Facebook post, Smith called his tenure an “extraordinary and historical chapter” of his life. He besides acknowledged thing that had been evident from the time Marshall appointed him.
“When I entered the BOP, I knew my assignment would beryllium a daze to the system,” Smith wrote. It was.
Smith was not a profession correctional officer. He had not spent decades moving done the BOP level from serviceman to lieutenant to skipper to subordinate prison guard and yet warden. He came from the different broadside of the situation fence.
From Federal Prison To The BOP's Number Two Position
Smith's way to Washington was remarkable.
Raised successful East Tennessee by a azygous mother, Smith had a troubled puerility that included juvenile custody and galore felony convictions. By property 21, he was headed to national situation connected a supplier conspiracy conviction. He yet served 5 years.
After prison, Smith began rebuilding his life. He started pinch a occupation paying $6 an hr and yet built Master Service Companies into a multimillion-dollar endeavor earlier trading the business.
He past turned his attraction toward corrections and rehabilitation. Smith created the Fourth Purpose Foundation, investing his ain money into an statement focused connected improving correctional culture, supporting correctional labor and preparing incarcerated group to successfully return to their communities.
That activity yet led Smith backmost to national prison, only this clip he entered done the beforehand gross arsenic 1 of the group moving the system. In his resignation statement, Smith captured the bonzer contrast.
“Three decades ago, I walked done the gates of a national situation arsenic an inmate,” he wrote. Years later, pursuing a statesmanlike pardon, Smith returned arsenic Deputy Director serving the president who had pardoned him.
Changing Who Leads Federal Prisons
One of the clearest themes of the Marshall-Smith era was leadership.
Smith said successful his farewell connection that he was particularly proud of the caller wardens and elder executives placed passim the Bureau and of changes successful really early leaders would beryllium identified and developed.
The BOP altered its prison guard action process, bringing extracurricular expertise into the information of candidates alternatively than relying solely connected accepted soul practices. Marshall said the BOP wanted nonsubjective evaluations of candidates, including their expertise to lead done crises, animate labor and alteration organization culture.
Smith was peculiarly nonstop astir expectations for BOP leaders and personally asked for the status of respective elder executives successful the Agency. Those consenting to clasp alteration would person support. Those unwilling to lend to a affirmative and master environment, he said, should measurement aside.
Smith besides launched the National Resource Team initiative, which sent teams into institutions to analyse staffing, training, morale, infrastructure and operations. After an first appraisal astatine FCC Victorville, the conception expanded, including a convention bringing high-security wardens together to talk communal operational problems and solutions.
In announcing his departure, he said he had traveled to much than 65 national prisons, listening to correctional officers, wardens, chaplains, nurses, lawsuit managers and others performing difficult jobs.
Taking On The Union And Old Policies
Perhaps thing demonstrated the willingness of BOP activity to situation the position quo much than its determination to terminate its maestro corporate bargaining agreement pinch the Council of Prison Locals.
The determination followed an executive bid from President Trump concerning corporate bargaining astatine agencies pinch nationalist information responsibilities. The national and its supporters powerfully opposed the move and based on that eliminating corporate bargaining protections would wounded correctional labor already moving successful vulnerable and understaffed institutions. The national is still successful litigation to person its authorities restored.
One consequence connected removing the national was the expertise to move much quickly connected policies that had remained unchanged for years. In March 2026, the BOP announced that it had completed 37 policies successful conscionable 90 days, calling it 1 of the astir important argumentation modernization efforts successful astir 3 decades. Those policies had gone an mean of almost 13 years without being updated, while the oldest dated to 1997.
Smith said astatine the clip that labor deserved guidance that was existent and reflected the realities of their jobs.
For those who regularly woody pinch the BOP, outdated Program Statements person agelong been a root of frustration. Whatever one's position of the national decision, the gait astatine which policies subsequently moved demonstrated really aggressively Marshall and Smith wanted to alteration the agency.
Billions For Crumbling Prisons
Smith and Marshall besides confronted 1 of the BOP's astir daunting problems: deteriorating infrastructure.
Federal prisons look a deferred attraction backlog exceeding $4 billion. Congress provided important caller backing done the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, giving the agency resources to statesman addressing conditions that had accumulated complete decades.
In January, the BOP held its first Facilities Management Industry Day, bringing contractors, method experts and BOP officials together to reside construction, attraction and modernization needs passim the national situation system. Smith participated and emphasized the request for extracurricular expertise to thief create safer and much businesslike institutions.
The BOP besides developed Facilities Management Strike Teams that could deploy BOP labor to institutions to execute needed repairs alternatively than relying exclusively connected lengthy extracurricular contracting processes.
Closing Prisons
That accuracy yet led to 1 of the astir difficult decisions immoderate corrections administrator tin make: closing prisons.
On July 1, the BOP announced the closure of Beaumont FCI Low, Big Spring FCI and its outer camp, La Tuna FCI and its outer facilities, Lexington's outer camp, Petersburg FCI Low and Taft FCI. Morgantown and Duluth were slated to modulation from minimum-security camps to Federal Satellite Low facilities.
The closures reflected realities confronting the Bureau, deteriorating infrastructure and persistent staffing shortages. Some aging prisons require tremendous superior investments simply to stay operational. At the aforesaid time, the Bureau struggles to enlistee and clasp capable labor to unit its institutions.
Marshall summarized the attack astatine the clip successful 4 words: “We are a Bureau that acts.”
That building could besides picture overmuch of Smith's tenure.
The Trump Connection
Smith's narration pinch President Trump makes his communicative moreover much unusual.
In January 2021, during the last days of Trump's first administration, Trump granted Smith a afloat statesmanlike pardon for the national supplier condemnation that had sent him to situation decades earlier. Four years later, Smith became Deputy Director of the agency that had erstwhile incarcerated him.
Smith made his gratitude to Trump a cardinal portion of his resignation announcement, saying Trump had been consenting to return a chance that nary erstwhile president had taken. A man who had erstwhile been confined by the BOP yet walked backmost done its doors arsenic Deputy Director nether the president who had granted him clemency.
Smith besides thanked Attorney General Todd Blanche for his assurance and support and Marshall for the opportunity to serve.
Accountability And Redemption
Smith was candid astir the information of the agency he encountered. In his farewell statement, he described a Bureau confronting bureaucracy, years of staffing shortages, exhausted and disappointment employees, activity vacancies, outdated systems and a civilization that needed to change.
He did not declare those problems had been solved.
“I time off proud of the guidance we started moving,” Smith wrote.
The Bureau of Prisons still has important problems. Staffing remains difficult. Billions of dollars of infrastructure activity remains unfinished. Implementation of the First Step Act continues. Policies still request updating. Prison closures and consolidations will create challenges for labor and incarcerated people. Initiatives launched during Smith's tenure are still comparatively new.
Smith besides raised a larger rumor successful his farewell message. “Our correctional strategy must clasp group accountable,” he wrote. “But accountability and redemption are not opposites.”
Smith committed a superior crime. He went to national prison. He served his sentence. He returned to society, built a successful business, created an statement dedicated to improving corrections, received a statesmanlike pardon and yet became Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
“My ain life is impervious of what tin hap erstwhile accountability is followed by opportunity,” Smith wrote.
An Unfinished Experiment
Smith's departure now raises an important mobility astir what happens next.
Marshall, himself a BOP outsider who ran the West Virginia Department of Corrections, remains Director, and the changes undertaken complete the past twelvemonth were ne'er Smith's alone. Many were Marshall's decisions and were implemented by thousands of BOP labor crossed the country.
Still, Smith brought an different operation of business experience, situation betterment activity and firsthand knowledge of incarceration to the Bureau's activity team.
Whether the initiatives begun during his tenure yet beryllium successful will return years to determine.
Smith says he will now return to Tennessee and rejoin Fourth Purpose, continuing the activity he was doing earlier entering government: supporting correctional professionals, improving prisons and preparing incarcerated men and women to successfully return to society. Today's reporting confirms those plans.
Whether 1 agreed pinch each determination Smith made during his little tenure, his travel represents 1 of the much bonzer examples of a 2nd chance successful the history of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Smith ended his resignation announcement pinch a elemental study astir what comes next.
“This section has ended. The ngo hasn't.”
English (US) · 
Indonesian (ID) · 
