About

I am Risdon N. Slate.  I am professor emeritus of criminology. Before pursuing my doctoral education, I worked as a United States Probation Officer and as assistant to the warden at a medium/maximum, death row, prison. I received my undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina- Charlotte, master’s degree from the University of South Carolina, and Ph.D. from the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California. I taught for four years at the University of Maine at Augusta before joining the faculty at Florida Southern College in 1993. My recent books are my memoir, Resilience in the Storm: My Journey with Mental Illness, The Criminalization of Mental Illness: Crisis and Opportunity for the Justice System, and The Decision-Making Network: An Introduction to Criminal Justice. My research interests include the interface of mental health and justice systems and criminal justice practitioner stress. I have served as a trainer and speaker on these topics with police, probation officers, correctional officers, judges, medical doctors, and psychiatric residents. As a person with mental illness, I have personally encountered the mental health and criminal justice systems and am passionate about combating the stigma associated with this disease. I live in Lakeland, Florida, with my wife, Claudia, and therapy goldendoodle, Teddy.