Amy E. Smith, J.D., Ph.D. (SFSU)
Associate Professor, Psychology, San Francisco State University
Amy E. Smith is an Associate Professor of Psychology at SF State. She received her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1998, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from University of California at Santa Cruz in 2004. Dr. Smith specializes in Legal Psychology, or the areas where law and psychology intersect around issues of social justice. Her activism and research integrate her academic and professional experience, and focus on topics related to the death penalty, the effects of incarceration, and successful reintegration of individuals after release from prison.
OVERVIEW
One current interview study examines the psychological effects of incarceration on individuals post-release, in particular its effect on identity. Another project, in collaboration with Dr. Elizabeth Brown (SFSU, Criminal Justice), explores the life trajectories of 150 system-involved youth utilizing qualitative archival data, in-depth interviews, and a Youth Participatory Action Research Project conducted in an urban juvenile facility.
PUBLICATIONS
- Smith, A. (2007). Not Waiving but Drowning: The Anatomy of Death Row Syndrome and Volunteering for Execution. BU Pub. Int. LJ, 17, 237. https://www.bu.edu/pilj/files/2015/09/17-2SmithArticle.pdf
- Brown, E., & Smith, A. (2017). Challenging mass incarceration in the City of Care: Punishment, community, and residential placement. Theoretical Criminology, 1362480616683794. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1362480616683794