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Draft:Scott Peyton

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  • Comment: In preparing this draft, I disclose that AI assistance was used as follows: I used ChatGPT to help research sources, organize the article, format Wikipedia citations, and draft the text. I reviewed the draft and sources before submission. I am also the subject of the draft and have disclosed my conflict of interest. CajunOne70 (talk) 13:59, 1 October 2026 (UTC)
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Scott E. Peyton is an American criminal justice advocate, corrections researcher, and Christian minister. He is senior director of advocacy at Prison Fellowship, where he works on state and federal criminal justice policy.[1] Peyton previously worked in Louisiana's criminal justice system and served as a state and regional director for Right on Crime.[2]

Peyton has written on community supervision, solitary confinement, reentry, employment after incarceration, and comparative corrections. His work has included international prison research in Germany, Norway, and Brazil.[3][4]

Peyton was ordained a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana in 2012. He later left Catholic ministry following a dispute with the church over its response to the sexual abuse of his son by a Catholic priest. In 2024, the diocese informed Peyton that he had incurred excommunication, which he appealed to the Vatican.[5] His excommunication and appeal received national media coverage in 2024 and 2026.[6]

Early life and education

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Peyton served in the Louisiana National Guard. He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and later earned a master's degree in nonprofit administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport.[2]

Criminal justice career

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Peyton worked for more than a decade in Louisiana's criminal justice system, including juvenile and adult probation and parole. His work included supervising people convicted of violent offenses, and he served as an instructor at Louisiana's Probation and Parole Police Academy.[2]

He later joined Right on Crime, where he worked on criminal justice policy in Louisiana and Mississippi and subsequently served as a regional director.[2] His policy work included probation and parole, sentencing, reentry, employment, criminal record sealing, and corrections policy.

During Louisiana's 2024 debate over changes to the state's criminal justice laws, the Louisiana Illuminator reported Peyton's views on the evidence underlying proposals to increase incarceration and the potential fiscal effects of proposed legislation.[7]

Peyton also participated in public policy discussions concerning criminal record sealing and Clean Slate legislation. In 2020, the American Legislative Exchange Council included him on a panel concerning community corrections and Clean Slate policies.[8] In 2023, he participated in a Southern Criminal Justice Association conference roundtable concerning record sealing with representatives from the Clean Slate Initiative and Code for America.[9]

In 2024, Peyton joined Prison Fellowship as director of government affairs and later became senior director of advocacy.[1] His work includes state and federal criminal justice advocacy.

In September 2026, following the United States Senate's passage of a resolution recognizing Prison Fellowship's 50th anniversary, the office of Senator James Lankford included a statement from Peyton in its announcement of the resolution sponsored by Lankford and Senator Chris Coons.[10]

Research and corrections policy

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Peyton has authored research and policy publications concerning corrections, probation and parole, reentry, and employment after incarceration.

In 2020, he published Solitary Confinement in the Pelican State, an examination of restrictive housing practices in Louisiana.[11]

Peyton subsequently published research on Louisiana's community supervision system. Community Supervision: Part 1 – Fees and Fines examined financial obligations associated with probation and parole. Community Supervision Part 2: Point of Entry examined the beginning of the community supervision process and proposed changes to supervision practices.[12]

Peyton co-authored Unlocking Hidden Talent: A Handbook for Employers with Tonya Kerr. The publication addressed employment of people with criminal records.[13]

In 2023, Corrections Today, published by the American Correctional Association, published Peyton's article A Recipe for Success—Right On Crime Reentry Gumbo: Creating Stronger and Safer Communities, concerning employer engagement and reentry.[14]

International corrections research

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Peyton participated in an international prison cohort examining correctional systems outside the United States.

Following visits to Germany and Norway, Peyton published The International Prison Tour Cohort: Germany and Norway in 2023. The report examined incarceration, rehabilitation, correctional culture, and reintegration.[3]

In 2024, he published The International Prison Tour Cohort: Brazil, based on visits to correctional institutions and programs in Brazil.[4]

Ministry and excommunication

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Peyton was ordained a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana in August 2012.[5]

One of Peyton's sons was sexually abused as a teenager by Catholic priest Michael Guidry. Guidry later pleaded guilty to molestation and was sentenced to prison.[5]

Peyton became publicly critical of the Catholic Church's response to clergy sexual abuse and its handling of his family's case. He eventually resigned from active Catholic ministry and left the Catholic Church. Peyton and members of his family subsequently attended an Anglican congregation.[5][15]

In March 2024, Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel informed Peyton that he had incurred excommunication and removed his faculties to function as a Catholic cleric.[5] Peyton publicly questioned the action and contrasted his treatment with the church's response to clergy accused of sexual abuse.[5]

The circumstances surrounding Peyton's departure and excommunication were reported by The Guardian, OSV News, and Louisiana television station KATC.[5][15][16]

Peyton appealed the excommunication to the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in May 2024. In March and April 2026, The Guardian and the National Catholic Reporter reported that the appeal remained unresolved.[17][6]

Peyton subsequently entered Protestant ministry.[6]

Selected publications

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  • Peyton, Scott. Solitary Confinement in the Pelican State. 2020. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.17671.21920.
  • Peyton, Scott. Community Supervision: Part 1 – Fees and Fines. 2023.
  • Peyton, Scott; Kerr, Tonya. Unlocking Hidden Talent: A Handbook for Employers. 2023.
  • Peyton, Scott. The International Prison Tour Cohort: Germany and Norway. 2023. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.29874.17602.
  • Peyton, Scott. "A Recipe for Success—Right On Crime Reentry Gumbo: Creating Stronger and Safer Communities". Corrections Today. 2023.
  • Peyton, Scott. Community Supervision Part 2: Point of Entry. 2024.
  • Peyton, Scott. The International Prison Tour Cohort: Brazil. 2024. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.21144.00004.

References

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  1. 1 2 "Advocacy Team". Prison Fellowship. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Scott Peyton". Right on Crime. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Peyton, Scott (2023). "The International Prison Tour Cohort: Germany and Norway". ResearchGate. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.29874.17602. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Peyton, Scott (2024). "The International Prison Tour Cohort: Brazil". ResearchGate. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.21144.00004. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vargas, Ramon Antonio (March 22, 2024). "Louisiana deacon excommunicated after son's sexual abuse by priest". The Guardian. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Louisiana deacon awaits Vatican decision on his excommunication". National Catholic Reporter. April 23, 2026. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Landry's criminal justice changes could carry substantial costs". Louisiana Illuminator. February 27, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Community Corrections and Clean Slates: Ideas States Can Undertake on Their Policy Plates". American Legislative Exchange Council. 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  9. ↑ "2023 Annual Meeting Program" (PDF). Southern Criminal Justice Association. 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Lankford, Coons Resolution Honoring 50 Years of Prison Fellowship Passes Senate Unanimously". Office of U.S. Senator James Lankford. September 30, 2026. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  11. ↑ Peyton, Scott (2020). "Solitary Confinement in the Pelican State" (PDF). Right on Crime. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.17671.21920. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  12. ↑ Peyton, Scott (2024). "Community Supervision Part 2: Point of Entry" (PDF). Right on Crime. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  13. ↑ Peyton, Scott; Kerr, Tonya (2023). "Unlocking Hidden Talent: A Handbook for Employers". Texas Public Policy Foundation. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  14. ↑ Peyton, Scott (2023). "A Recipe for Success—Right On Crime Reentry Gumbo: Creating Stronger and Safer Communities" (PDF). Corrections Today. 85 (5). American Correctional Association: 46. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "After son's abuse, Louisiana deacon and family join Anglican church, incurring excommunication". OSV News. 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Former deacon whose son was sexually abused by priest is excommunicated from Catholic Church". KATC. 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ Vargas, Ramon Antonio (March 22, 2026). "Louisiana deacon still waiting for Vatican ruling on excommunication appeal". The Guardian. Retrieved October 1, 2026.




References

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