Jack Donson
| Jack Donson | |
|---|---|
| Education: | B.A., Sociology/Anthropology; M.S., Criminal Justice |
| Occupation: | Federal prison consultant; retired Bureau of Prisons staff |
| Known for: | 23-year Bureau of Prisons career; founder of My Federal Prison Consultant |
Jack Donson is an American federal prison consultant and a retired career employee of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. After a 23-year career with the Bureau, he founded a consulting practice and became a frequently cited voice on federal sentence computation, prison programming, and abuses within the consulting industry itself.[1][2] Unlike many practitioners in the field, Donson came to consulting from a staff career rather than from a personal conviction.[1]
Background
Before his federal career, Donson served as a military policeman in the U.S. Army and worked as a parole officer in Pennsylvania, where he prepared pre-sentence reports.[1] He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology and anthropology and a master's degree in criminal justice.[1]
Bureau of Prisons Career
Donson worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons for 23 years before retiring in 2011.[1] He advanced through the case-management track, holding positions as a correctional treatment specialist, case management coordinator, and unit manager, with assignments that spanned a federal prison camp, a federal correctional institution, administrative and witness-security units, the Bureau's Philadelphia regional office, and its New York community corrections office.[1] He also served on a hostage negotiations team.[1] Over his career he received Bureau recognition including awards named National Correctional Treatment Specialist of the Year and the National Community Corrections Award.[1][3]
Consulting and Advocacy
After retiring, Donson founded My Federal Prison Consultant, a New York-based practice advising defendants and their attorneys on sentence computation, programming such as the Residential Drug Abuse Program, and placement.[3] He has also been involved in training programs for federal defenders and serves in a programs role with the criminal justice advocacy organization FedCURE, and has taught as an adjunct professor.[1][3]
Donson has been a public critic of misconduct within the prison-consulting industry. In March 2019, in Associated Press coverage of federal indictments charging operators of a prison-rehabilitation consulting firm, he described the largely unregulated field as "totally the Wild West" and said he hoped the prosecutions would give people "pause to not cross that line to illegality and unethical conduct."[2]
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is Jack Donson?
Jack Donson is a federal prison consultant and retired Federal Bureau of Prisons employee who advises defendants and attorneys on sentence computation, programming, and placement.
Q: Did Jack Donson serve time in prison?
No. Donson came to consulting from a 23-year staff career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons rather than from a personal conviction.
Q: What did Jack Donson do at the Bureau of Prisons?
He worked on the case-management track for 23 years as a correctional treatment specialist, case management coordinator, and unit manager, and served on a hostage negotiations team, before retiring in 2011.
Q: What is Jack Donson known for saying about the consulting industry?
He has been a public critic of misconduct in the field, describing the largely unregulated prison-consulting industry as "totally the Wild West" in 2019 Associated Press coverage of consultant-fraud indictments.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Jack T. Donson". FedCURE. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Show up drunk to shrink your prison sentence: indictments highlight rehab scam".Chicago Sun-Times.2019-03-11.Retrieved 2026-05-28.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Jack T. Donson". My Federal Prison Consultant. Retrieved 2026-05-28.