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Alexander L. Burton, PhD

Alexander L. Burton, PhD

Assistant Professor - Criminology and Criminal Justice Program

Alexander L. Burton is an Assistant Professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Program. His work primarily focuses on corrections and criminal justice policy. His recent works appear in journals such as Criminology, Justice Quarterly, and Criminology and Public Policy.

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Professional Preparation

Doctor of Philosophy - Criminal Justice
University of Cincinnati - 2022
Master of Science - Criminal Justice
University of Cincinnati - 2017
Bachelor of Science - Justice Administration
Southwest Minnesota State University - 2015

Research Areas

Institutional and Community Corrections
Digital Innovation in Criminal Justice
Public Opinion and Public Policy
School and Gun Policy

Publications

Elsafadi, H. O., Burton, A. L., Jonson, C. L., & Moon, M. (2026). Shining light on the dark figure of bullying: Student willingness to report physical, social, and cyber bullying. Journal of School Violence. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2026.2725628 2026 - publications
Burton, A. L. (2026). Do we still see the human? Public perceptions of people incarcerated in America. Crime & Delinquency. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287261467006 2026 - publications
Pickett, J. T., Cullen, F. T., Burton, A. L., Jonson, C. L., Schutten, N., & Burton, V. S., Jr. (2026). The hidden inhumanity of incarceration: Quantifying the suffering caused by bans on consensual inmate sex. Criminology & Public Policy, 25(3), 551-576.  2026 - publications
Puddy, H. N., Burton, A. L., Jonson, C. L., & Hong, S. (2026). Empathy and immigration: Public attitudes toward border security and deportation policies in the United States. American Journal of Criminal Justice.

2026 - publications
Burton, A. L., Cullen, F. T., Jonson, C. L., & Pickett, J. T. (2025). Most Americans do not like mass incarceration: Penal sensibility in an era of declining punitiveness. Journal of Experimental Criminology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-025-09671-y 2025 - publications
 Burton, A. L., Schutten, N., Jonson, C. L., Pickett, J. T., & Cullen, F. T. (2025). The right to keep arms secretly? An experimental analysis of popular support for public gun registries. Crime & Delinquency. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287251330775 2025 - publications
Hong, S., Puddy, H. N., & Burton, A. L. (2025). The extent and sources of support for mitigating collateral consequences: A comparison of criminal justice majors and non-majors. Journal of Criminal Justice Education. 2025 - publications
Escobedo, A., Burton, A. L., Miller, W. T., & Jonson, C. L. (2025). The potential benefits of a military to prison-work pipeline: A study of newly hired U.S. prison officers’ self-efficacy. Armed Forces & Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X251323179 2025 - publications

Appointments

Consultant
CGL Companies [2025–Present]
Assistant Professor
University of Texas at Dallas [2022–Present]
Senior Research Associate
Center for Health and Human Services Research at Talbert House [2020–2022]
Consultant
The Moss Group [2020–Present]

Presentations

Please see CV

News Articles

‘An extreme outlier’: Group accuses Tarrant County DA of seeking death penalty against minorities
Beyond PowerPoint: Corrections officers call for real-world training
The costly guesswork behind today’s corrections staffing policies
Building student trust in school resource officers is key to preventing school violence
Talks over Collin County Sheriff's and jail budgets get heated, cuts looming amid massive growth in region

Affiliations

New York City Department of Correction’s Training and Development Division Curriculum Review Committee
American Society of Criminology
American Correctional Association
American Society of Criminology - Division of Public Opinion & Policy
American Society of Criminology - Division of Corrections and Sentencing