Charles Spear (May 1, 1803 – April 13, 1863) was a Universalist minister who advocated for the abolishment of the death penalty, supported prison reform, and founded the newspaper Prisoner's Friend. The Prisoner's Friend was advertized as "the only journal known in the world that is wholly devoted to the abolition of capital punishment and the reformation of the criminal." Through Spear's efforts, prison conditions improved significantly, the death penalty was abolished in three states and imposed less often in others.