William R. Kelly

William R. Kelly is a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Criminology and Criminal Justice Research at the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught and conducted research in criminology and criminal justice for over twenty-five years and has published extensively on a variety of justice matters. Dr. Kelly has considerable experience developing, implementing and evaluating a wide variety of criminal justice programs and policies. His consulting work spans local, state and federal governments including law enforcement, probation departments, prisons and jails, state and federal prosecutors, judges, the defense bar, the court system, problem solving courts, and parole agencies, among others. He has provided expert advice and counsel on big picture justice policy issues as well as the design, implementation, operation and evaluation of very specific justice programs and initiatives.

He has recently completed five books on criminal justice reform. These include Criminal Justice at the Crossroads (Columbia University Press, 2015), The Future of Crime and Punishment: Smart Policies for Reducing Crime and Saving Money (Rpwman and Littlefield, 2016 and revised in 2019), From Retribution to Public Safety (Rowman and Littlefield, 2017), Confronting Underground Justice (Rowman and Littlefield, 2018), and The Crisis in the American Criminal Courts, Rowman and Littlefield, 2021).