Jessica Evans

Dr. Jessica Evans is an Assistant Professor in Criminology at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on carceral systems, anti-racist and decolonial theories, and critical political economy. She holds a PhD in Political Science from York University.

Education:

• PhD in Political Science, York University
• MA in Political Science, Carleton University
• BA in Political Science, Carleton University

Research Interests:

• Penal nationalism and state violence
• Prison abolition and anti-racist organizing
• Impact of pandemic policies on incarcerated populations
• Political economy of settler colonialism

Recent Work: Her SSHRC-funded research with the Prisoner HIV/AIDS Support Action Network examined pandemic conditions in Ontario prisons. Key publications appear in Punishment & Society, Canadian Journal of Law and Society, and Citizenship Studies.

Awards:

• SSHRC Joseph-Armond Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship

Advising & Collaboration: Co-founder of Toronto Prisoners' Rights Project; member of Abolition Coalition; certified through Walls to Bridges program. Engages in media advocacy via The Conversation and Spring Magazine.

Activism: Organizes for prison abolition, including pandemic-era initiatives highlighted in Disarm, Defund, Dismantle: Police Abolition in Canada.