Khalil Osiris is an author, college professor, and pastor who spent 20 years of his life in prison. During his incarceration at Norfolk Prison Colony in Massachusetts, he earned a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree from Boston University—aware of the historic significance of the facts that Norfolk was where Malcolm X served time and Boston University was where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., earned his doctoral degree.

While in prison, Osiris organized book clubs to promote literacy, formed prisoners study groups, and created numerous programs based on the principles of restorative justice. His message to fellow prisoners was (and still is) “turn the cell into a classroom and the prison into a university.”

Since his release, Osiris has co-authored two books: Talking Listening with Care: A Communication Guide for Singles and Couples and Psychology of Incarceration: A Distortion of the State of Belonging – the latter being the name of a course he teaches at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, as well as a reentry program taught to incarcerated men and women around the country. Recognized by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as an “approved institutional reentry program”, Psychology of Incarceration© is also a groundbreaking eight-part DVD series distributed by GWC, Inc., a leader in the addiction and criminal justice field.

Osiris’ latest DVD series is titled Get Out & Stay Out: Overcoming Self-imposed Limitations and Taking Responsibility: A Faith-Based Approach for Successful Reentry. His work is designed to empower and equip incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals to take ownership for their successful reentry.

As co-founder of TKOP (The Khalil Osiris Project), a non-profit reentry and restorative justice organization, Osiris’ passion is to educate, empower, and equip people, particularly formerly incarcerated individuals, to do what Gandhi taught, “Be the change we want to see in the world!”

Osiris is currently vice president of research and development for Total Sentencing Alternative Program (TSAP) in New Orleans, LA. TSAP provides alternatives to incarceration through state-of-the-art electronic monitoring services, comprehensive case management, and evidence-based practices focused on community safety.

A nationally recognized expert on reentry and restorative justice, Osiris is a dynamic speaker and engaging trainer. He conducts seminars, workshops, and faith-based retreats around the country on topics ranging from Jobs Not Jail and Five Steps to Freedom to Self-Imposed Limitations and the Power of Forgiveness. Additionally, Osiris is a columnist for RED!webzine (www.redwebzine.org), an online publication dedicated to reporting stories of transformation in the lives of prisoners and individuals re-entering society, and of innovations in prisons and jails internationally.

A pastor and social justice advocate, Osiris believes “churches are fundamentally social institutions, whose leaders and members have an obligation to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the sick, embrace the stranger, and visit the imprisoned.”

 

TKOP envisions a global community in which the care, welfare and safety of every person is guided by the principles of restorative justice and human rights. Our mission is to promote values focused on empowering and equipping individuals to make healthy life choices through critical thought, meaningful dialogue and positive action.