Publications
Books
Van Zyl Smit, D., Appleton, C. and VuCong, G. (2023) Life Imprisonment in Asia. Shanghai: Palgrave Macmillan.
Van Zyl Smit, D. and Appleton, C. (2019) Life Imprisonment: A Global Human Rights Analysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (currently being translated into Spanish). Awarded the 2020 Outstanding Book Award 2020 of the Division of International Criminology of the American Society of Criminology and the 2020 European Society of Criminology Book Award.
Van Zyl Smit, D. and Appleton, C. (eds.) (2016) Life Imprisonment and Human Rights. Oxford: Hart/Bloomsbury.
Appleton, C. (2010) Life after Life Imprisonment. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Awarded the 2011 British Society of Criminology Book Prize.
Burnett, R. and Appleton, C. (2004) Tackling Youth Crime In Partnership. Oxford: Russell House Publishing.
Book chapters
Van Zyl Smit, D. and Appleton, C. (2023) ‘Asian Life Imprisonment in Worldwide Perspective’ in D. van Zyl Smit, C. Appleton and G. VuCong (eds.) Life Imprisonment in Asia. Shanghai: Palgrave Macmillan.
Appleton, C. and van Zyl Smit, D. (2016) ‘The Paradox of Reform: Life Imprisonment in England and Wales’, in D. van Zyl Smit and C. Appleton (eds). Life Imprisonment and Human Rights. Oxford: Hart/Bloomsbury.
Van Zyl Smit, D., Appleton, C. and Benford, G. (2016) ‘Introduction’, in D. van Zyl Smit and C. Appleton (eds). Life Imprisonment and Human Rights. Oxford: Hart/Bloomsbury.
Appleton, C. (2015) ‘Lone Wolf Terrorism in Norway’, in C. Walker (ed.) Contingencies, Resilience and Legal Constitutionalism. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Appleton, C. and Walker, C. (2015) ‘The Penology of Terrorism’, in G. Lennon and C. Walker (eds.). Routledge Handbook of Law and Terrorism. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Journal articles
Appleton, C. and Gilman, H. (2022) ‘When life means death: Some reflections on whole life orders’, Prison Service Journal, July 2022: 261: 4-8.
Van Zyl Smit, D. and Appleton, C. (2018) ‘Life Imprisonment: The Modern Ultimate Penalty?’ New Philosopher, February-April 2018: 88-93.
Appleton, C. (2015) ‘Life without Parole’, Oxford Handbooks Online, Oxford University Press.
Appleton, C. (2014) ‘Lone wolf terrorism in Norway’, Special Issue on ‘Legal Perspectives on Contingencies and Resilience in an Environment of Constitutionalism’, International Journal of Human Rights, 18(2): 127-142.
Appleton, C. and Grøver, B. (2007) ‘The pros and cons of life without parole’, British Journal of Criminology, 47(4): 597-615.
Reports / policy briefings
Appleton, C., Van Zyl Smit, D. and Penal Reform International (2018) Life Imprisonment: A Policy Briefing, London: Penal Reform International.
Appleton, C. and Van Zyl Smit, D. (2017) Summary Report on Life Imprisonment Worldwide, University of Nottingham.
Blogs
Appleton, C. and Van Zyl Smit, D. (2018) ‘Challenging Life Imprisonment’, Comparative Penology Guest Blog, 29 May 2018. Available at: https://www.compen.crim.cam.ac.uk/Blog/blog-pages-full-versions/guest-blog-on-challenging-life-imprisonment.
Appleton, C. ‘The Meaning of Life Imprisonment – The Case of Khoroshenko v. Russia’, Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog, 6 October 2015. Available at: http://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/the-meaning-of-life-imprisonment-the-case-of-khoroshenko-v-russia/.
Awards, fellowships and prizes
2021-present. Awarded 8,7 million NOK from the Norwegian Research Council to carry out a four- year research project on the implementation and impact of preventive detention in Norway.
2019-2021. Awarded University of Nottingham Research Fellowship, School of Law.
2020. Outstanding Book Award 2020 of the Division of International Criminology of the American Society of Criminology and the 2020 European Society of Criminology Book Award for Van Zyl Smit, D. and Appleton, C. (2019) Life Imprisonment: A Global Human Rights Analysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
2014-2015. Research Scholarship, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
2011. 2011 British Society of Criminology Book Prize for Appleton, C. (2010) Life after Life Imprisonment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1997-1998. Lord Borth-Y-Guest Research Studentship, Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge, UK.
Teaching activities
2023-present. Guest lecturer and course administrator for the Master of Laws (LLM) guest course on ‘Ultimate penalties: How societies respond to their most serious crimes’, Faculty of Law, University of Lucerne, Switzerland.
2020-2021. Course coordinator and principal lecturer for the Master of Laws (LLM) ‘Imprisonment and Human Rights’ course, School of Law, University of Nottingham, UK.
2018-2019. Designed/written modules on ‘Prison Reform’ and ‘Alternatives to Imprisonment’ to support tertiary level educators and academics worldwide as part of the United Nations Office on Drugs Global ‘Education for Justice’ Programme for the implementation of the Doha Declaration.
2009-2011. School of Law, University of Leeds, UK.
- Module leader and principal lecturer for the ‘Criminology’ undergraduate.
- Principal lecturer for the undergraduate modules ‘prisons and penology’, ‘alternatives to custody’, ‘introduction to criminal justice’, ‘criminological theory’, ‘research methods’ and ‘criminal justice study skills’.
- Supervision of Masters and PhD.
2000-2007. Centre for Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, UK.
- Tutor in criminal justice and penology for undergraduate law.
- Course convener and principal lecturer for the annual summer school programme on ‘Crime and Punishment in the UK and USA’, administered to visiting students form the United States.
- Module leader and principal lecturer for the ‘Criminology’ undergraduate.
- Lecturer in criminal justice and penology for the Department of Social Policy and Social Work.
Conference organisation (since 2021).
- Convened and co-hosted Deaths in Prisons international conference, 2-3 November 2022, University of Oxford – 30 attendees from around the world.
- Organised and co-convened themed session on ‘Recent Developments in Life Imprisonment in Europe’, European Society of Criminology, Malaga, September 2022.
- Organised and co-convened roundtable on ‘Future Research Directions in Perpetual Confinement and Life Imprisonment’, Law and Society Association international conference, Lisbon, July.
- Convened and co-hosted (online) ‘Life Imprisonment in Asia’ conference, 5-6 October 2021 – 300 attendees from around the world.
- Convened and co-hosted ‘Life Imprisonment’ event at the 14th UN Kyoto Crime Congress (online), March 2021.
Project management experience
2021-present. Indefinite preventive detention: The Implementation and Impact of the ULTimate PENalty in Norway (ULTPEN) – Principal Investigator, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (awarded four-year funding).
2019-present. Life Imprisonment Worldwide Revisited (Principal Investigator) Centre for Research and Education in Security, Prisons and Forensic Psychiatry, in collaboration with the School of Law, University of Nottingham, UK.
2017-2021. Impact Coordinator, School of Law, University of Nottingham, UK and Expert Group on Impact of Research, University of Nottingham, UK.
2014-2018. Life Imprisonment Worldwide (Co-Investigator), School of Law, University of Nottingham, UK.
2009-2011. The Resettlement of Sex Offenders in England and Wales (Principal Investigator), School of Law, University of Leeds, UK.
2007-2008. Factors Associated with the Recall of Life-sentenced Prisoners (Lead Researcher), Parole Board for England and Wales.
2004-2005. The Pros and Cons of Life without Parole (Lead Researcher), Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, UK.
2003-2008. The Release and Recall of Life-sentenced Offenders (Principal Investigator), Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, UK.
Positions of trust
2023. Expert Advisor to the Council of Europe Project, ‘Strengthening the Human Rights Compliant Criminal Justice System in the Republic of Moldova’.
2021-present. Elected Deputy Chair, Executive Board of the international NGO Penal Reform International.
2020-present. Elected Board member to the international NGO Penal Reform International.
2018-2019. Expert Advisor to the ‘Education for Justice’ initiative, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna.
2020-present. Co-Director of ‘Prisons, Health and Societies international’ research network.
2018-2019. Expert Advisor to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, United Nations Office, Geneva.
2016-present. Advisory Board Member for the Comparative Penology Research Project at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, UK.
2014-present. Advisory Board Member for the organisation Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers. 2010-present: External reviewer for the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Current Issues in Criminal Justice, and Oxford University Press.
Memberships of professional bodies
British Society of Criminology European Society of Criminology American Society of Criminology.
Prisons Research Group member, Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo.
‘Education 4 Justice’ Champion, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.