Charles E. Samuels, Jr., has been appointed the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons by Attorney General Eric Holder, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Samuels is currently the bureau’s assistant director of the correctional programs division. In the position, he has overseen inmate management and program functions, inmate transportation, case management, mental health and religious services and community corrections, according to the release.
“I am pleased that Charles will continue to build upon 23 years of distinguished service at the department,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in the news release. “I am confident that Charles will provide the kind of effective and innovative leadership that will increase efficiency, further expand prisoner development and reentry programs, and allow for transparency and accountability at the Federal Bureau of Prisons – while remaining true to the BOP’s core mission of protecting public safety.”
His career in the bureau began in 1988 as a correctional officer. From there he has been promoted to several other positions within the bureau, including correctional programs administrator, associate warden, ombudsman, warden and senior deputy assistant director of the correctional programs division. He has worked in correctional facilities in Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia, according to the release. He was selected in 2001 as Associate Warden of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic Region.
“I am very honored to be appointed by Attorney General Holder to serve as the director for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and will continue to work with the great staff at every level of the BOP to meet our mission to protect society and provide meaningful life skills and reentry programs for our inmate population,” Samuels said in the release.
Samuels is hails from Birmingham, Ala., and received his bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral sciences from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is also a graduate of the Harvard University executive education program, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
