A graduate of Stanford University and the University of Washington, Christopher Murray started his professional career in 1976, an occasional witness to some of the events in the book, Unusual Punishment, The Penitentiary in Walla Walla - 1970 to 1985. Winner of the 2004 Professional Award from the Washington Correctional Association, his consulting firm has provided planning, research, and policy analysis services to correctional agencies in various parts of the country since 1987. The father of two adult children, and stepfather to two more, he and his wife, Kathleen, split their time between their homes in Olympia, Washington, and Kihei, Hawaii.