Bob Turney, a co-founder of Unlock, the national association for ex-offenders, has died at the age of 82. Unlock offers practical support to individuals seeking to overcome the impact of their criminal records and campaigns for institutional and legislative reform.
Turney's memoir, I’m Still Standing, published in 1997, detailed his experiences with poverty, dyslexia, drug abuse, alcoholism, and 18 years spent in prison for offences including burglary and petty theft. He left prison for the last time in 1979.
By the 1990s, Turney had stopped drinking and committing crimes. He studied forensic social work at Reading University and became a probation officer in 1997, one of the first ex-offenders to enter the profession. He also became a member of a youth justice team.
In 1999, Turney co-founded Unlock with Mark Leech, editor of the Prisons Handbook. The charity launched at Pentonville prison, with Sir Stephen Tumim becoming its first president. Turney also co-edited the book Going Straight: After Crime and Punishment.