William Wilbanks

William Lee Wilbanks (May 30, 1940 - October 9, 2018) was an American criminologist and former professor of criminal justice at Florida International University.

Education Wilbanks graduated from Belton High School in Belton, Texas in 1958. At Belton High, he was an all-state guard on the State AA Championship basketball team that won the Class 2A championship in 1958. He went on to receive his B.A. from Abilene Christian College in 1963, after which he received his M.A.'s from Abilene Christian College, Sam Houston State University, and the University at Albany, SUNY in 1965, 1972, and 1972, respectively. In 1975, he received his Ph.D. in criminal justice from University at Albany, SUNY. Texas Tech University's Department of English awards the William Wilbanks Technical Communication Scholarship to some of its undergraduates who are technical communication majors, and who have GPAs of 3.0 or higher. He appeared on multiple televised debates in which he argued that Prentice Rasheed, a shopkeeper in Dade County, Florida, should be indicted for setting a booby trap that killed a suspected burglar. Despite this, Rasheed was not indicted by the grand jury.