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San Quentin Rehabilitation Center

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Template:Short description Template:Redirect {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox prison with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| name | prison_name | image | image_size | alt | caption | image_map | map_size | map_alt | map_caption | pushpin_map | pushpin_map_alt | coordinates | map_dot_mark | pushpin_label | pushpin_relief | pushpin_map_caption | pushpin_mapsize | location | status | classification | capacity | population | population_as_of | population_date | populationdate | opened | closed | former_name | managed_by | director | governor | warden | street-address | city | county | state | postcode | zip | country | website | prisoners | nrhp | embedded | mapframe | mapframe-caption | mapframe-custom | mapframe-id | mapframe-coord | mapframe-wikidata | mapframe-shape | mapframe-frame-width | mapframe-frame-height | mapframe-shape-fill | mapframe-shape-fill-opacity | mapframe-stroke-color | mapframe-stroke-colour | mapframe-stroke-width | mapframe-marker | mapframe-marker-color | mapframe-marker-colour | mapframe-geomask | mapframe-geomask-stroke-color | mapframe-geomask-stroke-colour | mapframe-geomask-stroke-width | mapframe-geomask-fill | mapframe-geomask-fill-opacity | mapframe-zoom | mapframe-length_km | mapframe-length_mi | mapframe-area_km2 | mapframe-area_mi2 | mapframe-frame-coordinates | mapframe-frame-coord | mapframe-switcher }} San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> place of San Quentin in Marin County.

Established in 1852, and opening in 1854,<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> San Quentin is the oldest prison in California. The state's only death row for male inmates, the largest in the United States, was located at the prison.<ref name=CDCRSQ>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=FimriteDeathRow>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="citp"/> Its gas chamber has not been used since 1993, and its lethal injection chamber was last used in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The prison has been featured on film, radio drama, video, podcast, and television; is the subject of many books; has hosted concerts; and has housed many notorious inmates.

FacilitiesEdit

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The correctional complex sits on Point San Quentin, which consists of Template:Convert on the north side of San Francisco Bay.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The prison complex itself occupies Template:Convert, valued in a 2001 study at between $129 million and $664 million.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As of July 31, 2022, San Quentin was incarcerating people at 105% of its design capacity, with 3,239 occupants.<ref name="july2022pop">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Death rowEdit

Men condemned to death in California were, in general, formerly held at San Quentin. Most of the former death row population, with some exceptions, have been moved to general population in other California institutions as of May 28, 2024. These transfers have been arranged to comply with Proposition 66 and are being managed by the Condemned Inmate Transfer Program of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Of the 598 condemned inmates in California as of February 5, 2025, only 9 remained at San Quentin, with the last 9 inmates expected to also be transferred after completing needed medical or psychiatric care. Despite the transfers, the condemned inmates remain under sentence of death at their new institutions.<ref name="citp">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Condemned women are held at Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla.<ref name=CPC3600ff /> As of December 2015, San Quentin held almost 700 male inmates in its Condemned Unit, or "death row".<ref name=StJohnPeek>St. John, Paige. "A rare peek at San Quentin's death row, and conversations with inmates awaiting their fates as political battles swirl Template:Webarchive." Los Angeles Times. December 29, 2015. Retrieved on March 22, 2016.</ref> As of 2001, San Quentin's death row was described as "the largest in the Western Hemisphere";<ref>Nieves, Evelyn. Rash of violence disrupts San Quentin's death row. New York Times, May 22, 2001. Accessed January 13, 2009.</ref> as of 2005, it was called "the most populous execution antechamber in the United States."<ref name=FimriteDeathRow /> The states of Florida and Texas had fewer death row inmates in 2008 (397 and 451 respectively) than San Quentin.<ref>The death penalty in 2008: year end report. Template:Webarchive Washington, DC: Death Penalty Information Center, December 2008. Accessed January 13, 2009.</ref>

The death row at San Quentin was divided into three sections: the quiet "North-Segregation" or "North-Seg", built in 1934, for prisoners who "don't cause trouble"; the "East Block", a "crumbling, leaky maze of a place built in 1927"; and the "Adjustment Center" for the "worst of the worst".<ref name=FimriteDeathRow /> Most of the prison's death row inmates resided in the East Block. The fourth floor of the North Block was the prison's first death row facility, but additional death row space opened after executions resumed in the U.S. in 1978. The adjustment center received solid doors, preventing "gunning-down" or attacking persons with bodily waste. Template:As of it housed 81 death row inmates and four non-death row inmates.<ref name=Stjohnrevealing>St. John, Paige. "A revealing look at California's death row Template:Webarchive." Los Angeles Times. January 5, 2016. Retrieved on March 22, 2016.</ref> A dedicated psychiatric facility serves the prisoners. A converted shower bay in the East Block hosted religious services. Many prison programs available for most inmates were unavailable for death row inmates.<ref name=StJohnPeek/>

Although $395 million was allocated in the 2008Template:Ndash2009 state budget for new death row facilities at San Quentin, in December 2008 two legislators introduced bills to eliminate the funding.<ref name=EgelkoDeathRow>Egelko, Bob. 2 lawmakers team up to oppose new Death Row. Template:Webarchive San Francisco Chronicle, December 17, 2008. Accessed January 13, 2009.</ref> The state had planned to build a new death row facility, but Governor Jerry Brown canceled those plans in 2011.<ref>Riley, Charles. "California cancels new San Quentin death row Template:Webarchive." CNN. April 28, 2011. Retrieved on May 9, 2012.</ref> In 2015 Brown asked the Legislature for funds for a new death row as the current death row facilities were becoming filled. At the time the non-death row prison population was decreasing, opening room for death row inmates. Template:As of the San Quentin death row had a capacity of 715 prisoners.<ref>"California's death row, with no executions in sight, runs out of room Template:Webarchive." Los Angeles Times. March 30, 2015. Retrieved on March 22, 2016.</ref>

ExecutionsEdit

File:SQ Lethal Injection Room.jpg
Lethal injection room in San Quentin

All executions in California (male and female) take place at San Quentin.<ref name=CPC3600ff>Legislative Counsel of California. Penal Code section 3600-3607 Template:Webarchive. Accessed January 13, 2009. "The judgment of death shall be executed within the walls of the California State Prison at San Quentin." and "Upon the affirmance of her appeal, the female person sentenced to death shall thereafter be delivered to the warden of the California state prison designated by the department for the execution of the death penalty,[...]"</ref> The execution chamber is located in a one-story addition close to the East Block.<ref name=Stjohnrevealing/> Women executed in California are transported to San Quentin by bus before being executed.<ref>Corwin, Miles. "Death's Door : State's Only Condemned Woman Awaits Her Fate ." Los Angeles Times. April 19, 1992. Retrieved on March 22, 2016.</ref>

The methods for execution at San Quentin have changed over time. Prior to 1893, the counties executed convicts. Between 1893 and 1937, 215 people were executed at San Quentin by hanging, after which 196 prisoners died in the gas chamber. The gas chamber was constructed by inmates in 1937.<ref name=FimriteDeathRow /> In 1995, the use of gas for execution was ruled "cruel and unusual punishment", which led to executions inside the gas chamber by lethal injection.<ref name=FimriteDeathRow /> Between 1996 and 2006, eleven people were executed at San Quentin by lethal injection.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In April 2007, staff of the California Legislative Analyst's Office discovered that a new execution chamber was being built at San Quentin; legislators subsequently "accuse[d] the governor of hiding the project from the Legislature and the public."<ref>Martin, Mark. "New execution chamber infuriates lawmakers. Facility at San Quentin was built quietly" Template:Webarchive. San Francisco Chronicle, April 14, 2007. Accessed January 12, 2009.</ref> The old lethal injection facility had included an injection room of Template:Convert and a single viewing area; the facility that was being built included an injection chamber of Template:Convert and three viewing areas for family, victim, and press.<ref>State of California lethal injection protocol Template:Webarchive. Accessed January 16, 2009.</ref> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped construction of the facility the next week.<ref>Gov. Schwarzenegger stops construction of lethal injection facility Template:Webarchive. April 20, 2007. Accessed January 16, 2009.</ref> The legislature later approved $180,000 to finish the project, and the facility was completed.<ref>Chorneau, Tom. "Death chamber delayed by budget standoff, may miss Oct. 1 deadline" Template:Webarchive. San Francisco Chronicle, August 7, 2007. Accessed January 16, 2009.</ref><ref>Mintz, Howard. State decides to seek public input on execution plan Template:Webarchive. San Jose Mercury News, January 6, 2009. Accessed January 16, 2009.</ref>

In addition to state executions, three federal executions have been carried out at San Quentin.<ref>"Executions of Federal Prisoners (since 1927) Template:Webarchive." Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on August 22, 2010.</ref> Samuel Richard Shockley and Miran Edgar Thompson had been incarcerated at Alcatraz Island federal penitentiary and were executed on December 3, 1948, for the murder of two prison guards during the Battle of Alcatraz.<ref name=3rd-federal-execution>https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x_9JAAAAIBAJ&pg=3652,1017239 Template:Dead link</ref> Carlos Romero Ochoa had murdered a federal immigration officer after he was caught smuggling illegal immigrants across the border near El Centro, California. He was executed at San Quentin's gas chamber on December 10, 1948.<ref name=3rd-federal-execution />

On March 13, 2019, after Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a moratorium on the state's death penalty, the state withdrew its current lethal injection protocol, and San Quentin dismantled and indefinitely closed its gas and lethal injection execution chambers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

ProgramsEdit

  • Prison to Employment Connection, A Better Way Out - Prison to Employment Connection is offered to inmates at San Quentin State Prison who are close to their release dates or have a scheduled Parole Board Hearing. After successfully completing a rigorous 14-week employment readiness program, inmates are invited to an Employer Day. Potential employers (PEC Partners) come to the prison to interview inmates, review their resumes, and offer guidance and support for potential employment upon release.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • VVGSQ – Vietnam Veterans Group San Quentin – Although the group had been meeting for some time, the name officially began on April 7, 1987. In 1988 they started the annual Christmas Toy giveaway, giving toys to visiting children. In 1989 they began the annual scholarship fund for high school seniors. They spend their time raising money and since 1987 have given over $80,000 to the community.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> 

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| Q21191270 | Q21664088 | Q50062923 | Q50914552 | Q99079902 | Q123186929 | Q55422400 | Q61220733 =Template:Preview warning | Q3464665 =Template:Preview warning }}{{#ifeq: Template:Wikidata | Q21191270 |Template:Preview warning }}{{#if: tt0078314 | Template:WikidataCheck }}</ref> In 1983, a randomized controlled study was published that found that the program produced no overall reduction in delinquency.<ref name=Lewis /> The program was still functional as of 2008.<ref>Hindery, Robin. Lessons through life. Daily Democrat (Woodland, CA), February 24, 2008.</ref>

  • Since the 1920s, San Quentin inmates have been allowed to play baseball.<ref name=Kosa>Kosa, Frank. Prison baseball team gives inmates a focus beyond their cells. Template:Webarchive Christian Science Monitor, July 2, 2008.</ref> Starting in 1994 inmates have played against players from outside the prison.<ref name=RealSports>Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. Episode 111. Story 2: A Game of Years. Template:Webarchive June 20, 2006. Accessed January 2, 2009.</ref><ref name="700Club-SanQuentinChaplain">Template:Cite news</ref> The games occur twice a week through the summer.<ref name=Souders>Souders, Travis. San Quentin baseball offers local team, inmates perspective. Template:Webarchive Chico Enterprise-Record, August 10, 2008. Accessed January 2, 2009.</ref> Originally the Pirates,<ref name="700Club-SanQuentinChaplain"/> the team of prisoners is called the "Giants" in honor of the San Francisco Giants, who donated uniforms to the team.<ref name=Kosa /><ref name=Souders /> A second team called the Athletics was later started, named after the Oakland Athletics.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The team of outside players is called the "Willing". The umpires and fans are inmates, but the coaches on the field are volunteers.<ref name=Kosa /><ref name=Souders /> Although some people question the appropriateness of baseball games being held at the prison, officials believe "organized sports is a way to keep inmates occupied and perhaps teach a few lessons on getting along with others."<ref name=Kosa /> These games were detailed in a Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel episode on June 20, 2006,<ref name=RealSports /> and in several other documentaries.
  • San Quentin has the only on-site college degree-granting program in California's entire prison system, which began in 1996 and which is currently run by the Mount Tamalpais College.<ref>MacLaren, Becca. "San Quentin inmates get diplomas, set goals." Template:Webarchive Marin Independent Journal, June 29, 2007. Accessed January 10, 2009.</ref><ref>Prison University Project. History and background. Template:Webarchive Accessed January 10, 2009.</ref>
  • No More Tears Program, co-founded by incarcerated men at San Quentin. This program is committed to stopping the violence in the community and changing the mindset. This program stays alive through donations, volunteers, and CDCR who come into the prison and become involved in the workshops with the incarcerated men: Changing the mindset, Response to Violence, Employability, Fixin' da Hood. All inmates and volunteers are working toward achieving the program's mission: stopping the tears of loved ones and family by being committed to stopping the youth from committing acts of violence.<ref>No More Tears. Template:Usurped Accessed November 15, 2009.</ref>
  • The California Reentry Program at San Quentin, begun in 2003, "helps inmates re-enter society after they serve their sentences."<ref>Moody, Shelah. California Reentry Program gives ex-cons a second chance. Template:Webarchive San Francisco Chronicle, December 9, 2007. Accessed January 12, 2009.</ref>
  • The San Quentin News is the only inmate-produced newspaper in California and one of the few in the world.<ref name="Need to Know">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="San Quentin News Project">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

HistoryEdit

File:San Quentin State Prison.jpg
The sprawling San Quentin prison complex.

Though numerous towns and localities in the area are named after Roman Catholic saints, and "San Quintín" is Spanish for "Saint Quentin", the prison was not named after the saint. The land on which it is situated, Point Quentin, is named after a Coast Miwok warrior named Quentín, fighting under Chief Marin, who was taken prisoner at that place.<ref>Sliney, Edgar M. (Ted). "A History of Mission San Rafael, Archangel." Template:Webarchive Marin County Historical Society Magazine. vol. XV, no. 1, 1989, pp. 4–13.</ref><ref>Gudde, Erwin G. California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Template:ISBN.</ref>

In 1851, California's first prison opened; it was a 268-ton wooden ship named the Waban, anchored in San Francisco Bay and outfitted to hold 30 inmates.<ref>California Department of Justice. "California Criminal Justice Time Line 1822–2000." Template:Webarchive Accessed January 8, 2008.</ref><ref>Ewell, Miranda. "San Quentin Sets Its History Free. Famed Prison To Detail Its Past In New Museum." San Jose Mercury News. May 27, 1991.</ref> Some of the Waban's timber remains a part of the new hospital structure inside the prison. After a series of speculative land transactions and a legislative scandal,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> inmates who were housed on the Waban constructed San Quentin which opened its first cell block, nicknamed "the Stones", in 1854. Before being retired altogether, this initial unit would come to be used as a dungeon after newer additions were constructed atop it. The Stones, however, survive to this day and is thought to be California's oldest surviving public work.<ref>Brown, Patricia Leigh. San Quentin journal. Prison makes way for future, but preserves past. Template:Webarchive New York Times, January 18, 2008. Accessed January 7, 2009.</ref>

Clinton Duffy was the warden from 1940 to 1952. He had fresh insights informing the reorganization of the prison structure and reformation of prison management. Prior to Duffy, San Quentin had gone through years of violence, inhumane punishments and civil rights abuses against prisoners. The previous warden was forced to resign.<ref>Petersilia, J. California's correctional paradox of excess and deprivation., in M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime & Justice: A review of research (2008). page 207</ref> Duffy had the offending prison guards fired and added a librarian, psychiatrists, and several surgeons at San Quentin. Duffy's press agent publicized sweeping reforms. San Quentin remained a brutal prison where prisoners continued to be beaten to death.Template:Sfn The use of torture as an approved method of interrogation at San Quentin was banned in 1944.<ref name=Reed>Reed, Dan. "Killer Location May Doom San Quentin Prison." San Jose Mercury News. August 20, 2001.</ref>

In 1941, the first prison meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous took place at San Quentin; in commemoration of this, the 25-millionth copy of the AA Big Book was presented to Jill Brown, of San Quentin, at the International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1947, Warden Duffy recruited Herman Spector to work as assistant warden at San Quentin. Spector turned down the invitation to be assistant warden and chose instead to become senior librarian if he could institute his theories on reading as a program to encourage pro-social behavior. By 1955, Spector was being interviewed in library journals and suggesting the prison library could contribute significantly to rehabilitation.<ref>Spector, Herman. Library program of the California state department of corrections, |date=1957.Special Libraries, 48,7.</ref>

The dining hall of the prison is adorned by six Template:Convert sepia-toned murals depicting California history. They were painted by Alfredo Santos, one-time convicted heroin dealer and successful artist, during his 1953–1955 incarceration.<ref>Russell, Ron. "Hidden Treasure: Half a century ago, ex-heroin dealer Alfredo Santos created an epic work of art inside San Quentin." Template:Webarchive SF Weekly. July 23, 2003.</ref><ref>Hall, Christopher. A prisoner with a paintbrush, a legacy at risk. Template:Webarchive New York Times, August 19, 2007. Accessed January 3, 2009.</ref> The murals were painted with a thinned, raw sienna oil paint directly to plaster as he was denied use of other colors to paint with.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Between 1992 and 1997, a "boot camp" was held at the prison that was intended to "rehabilitat[e] first-time, nonviolent offenders"; the program was discontinued because it did not reduce recidivism or save money.<ref>Doyle, Jim. Boot camp inmates' final salute. Alternative prison program to end as its effectiveness is debated. Template:Webarchive San Francisco Chronicle, July 29, 1997, Accessed January 13, 2009.</ref>

A 2005 court-ordered report found that the prison was "old, antiquated, dirty, poorly staffed, poorly maintained with inadequate medical space and equipment and overcrowded."<ref>Gladstone, Mark. San Quentin 'decrepit' – medical experts decry state of facility inspectors find 'cruelty and neglect,' say health care mandate is ignored investigating state prisons. San Jose Mercury News, April 14, 2005.</ref> Later that year, the warden was fired for "threaten[ing] disciplinary action against a doctor who spoke with attorneys about problems with health care delivery at the prison."<ref>Martin, Mark. San Quentin warden fired over health care. State's investigation led to dismissal, says corrections official. Template:Webarchive San Francisco Chronicle, July 8, 2005. Accessed January 9, 2009.</ref> By 2007, a new trauma center had opened at the prison and a new $175 million medical complex was planned.<ref>Whitaker, Tad. Trauma center unveiled at San Quentin. Marin Independent Journal, June 15, 2007.</ref>

In 2020, the prison became the center of a COVID-19 outbreak, after a group of prisoners were transferred to San Quentin from the California Institution for Men in Chino, California. Initial reports suggested that San Quentin officials were told that the new inmates had all tested negative; however, few had been tested at all. By June 22, at least 350 inmates and staff had tested positive, in what a federal judge called a "significant failure" of policy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In March 2023, California governor Gavin Newsom announced a "historic transformation" of the then-called San Quentin State Prison as part of a project to improve public safety through a greater focus on rehabilitation and education.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As part of the project, the prison was renamed San Quentin Rehabilitation Center and an advisory group of rehabilitation and public safety experts was formed to advise the efforts.

Notable inmatesEdit

CurrentEdit

File:San Quentin.jpg
San Quentin up close.
File:San-Quentin-Prison-4.JPG
San Quentin prisoners on recreation
  • Vincent Brothers (born 1962): convicted in the shooting and stabbing of five members of his family, including three children. Sentenced to death in 2007.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Joseph Danks (born 1962): "Koreatown Slasher" who murdered six homeless men in Los Angeles in 1987. Sentenced to death in 1993 for strangling his cellmate in California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Bruce Davis (born 1942): member of the Manson family convicted of the murder of Donald "Shorty" Shea and sentenced to life in 1974.
  • Richard Allen Davis (born 1954): convicted of kidnapping and murdering Polly Klaas.<ref name=FimriteDeathRow /> Sentenced to death in 1996.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Skylar Deleon (born 1979): former child actor and triple murderer responsible for the deaths of Thomas and Jackie Hawks. Sentenced to death in 2009. One of Deleon's accomplices, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was also sentenced to death in 2009.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Jon Dunkle (born 1960): convicted of murdering three young boys in Belmont. Sentenced to death in 1990.<ref name="SFG">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Wayne Adam Ford (born 1961): convicted of killing four women in 1997 and 1998. Sentenced to death in 2006.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Billy Ray Waldon (born 1952): murderer and rapist who killed three people. Sentenced to death in 1987.

FormerEdit

  • Jeffrey Aguilar: (born 1985) was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Oxnard business owner, Gurmohinder Singh. On a Saturday morning in August 2008, Singh, known for his check cashing and mini mart businesses, was robbed and fatally shot outside the US Bank on Oxnard Blvd. At the time of the incident, Singh was carrying $100,000 in cash. Aguilar, a known gang member, was linked to the crime through an ATM photo taken at the murder scene. Two days after the incident, he was involved in a shootout with Oxnard Police but escaped.<ref name=":2" /> He was captured later in Carpinteria, California. Aguilar's eligibility for the death penalty was based on committing the murder during a robbery while lying in wait and was sentenced to death in 2013.<ref name=":1" />
  • Isauro Aguirre (born 1980): tortured and killed girlfriend's 8-year-old son Gabriel Fernandez along with his girlfriend Pearl Fernandez. Aguirre was sentenced to death and Fernandez to life in prison in 2018. The case was the subject of the Netflix series The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Rodney Alcala: serial killer sentenced to death. He was later transferred to Corcoran State Prison where he died.
  • William Dale Archerd: murdered three family members by injecting them with insulin. Sentenced to death but commuted to life in prison. Died from pneumonia in California Medical Facility in 1977.
  • Alejandro Avila (born 1971): the rapist and murderer of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion. Sentenced to death in 2005.<ref name="DeathRowList">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Bobby Beausoleil: a former associate of the Charles Manson "Family" currently serving a life sentence in prison.<ref>"The Artist's Journey – a prisoner's path to redemption". Transcript of comments made by Bobby in an interview with Plethora magazine, Copenhagen. Bobby BeauSoleil website. Accessed December 21, 2017.</ref>
  • Charles Bolles: alias Black Bart, an American Old West outlaw.<ref name=Reed />
  • Richard Delmer Boyer (born 1958): convicted for stabbing an elderly couple to death while high on alcohol and drugs. Claimed to have been partly influenced by a scene in Halloween II. Sentenced to death in 1984.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Luis Bracamontes (born 1970): illegal immigrant who shot and killed two Sacramento police officers and injured a civilian and a third officer. Sentenced to death in 2018.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • William Bradford: murdered a barmaid and a 15-year-old girl and may have killed as many as 20 women. Died from natural causes in California Medical Facility in 2008.
  • Albert Greenwood Brown (born 1954): convicted rapist and child molester who raped and murdered a teen girl in 1980. Sentenced to death in 1982.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Brandon Browner (born 1984): former NFL player found guilty of attempted murder, currently serving eight-year sentence.
  • Edward Bunker: FBI most wanted fugitive who reformed and became an author (he wrote a novel set in San Quentin<ref>Bunker, Edward. The animal factory. New York: Viking Press, 1977. Template:ISBN.</ref>) and actor. Was sentenced at age 17, the youngest inmate at the time.
  • Rodolfo Cadena: influential member of the Mexican Mafia. Murdered by members of the Nuestra Familia in California Institution for Men in 1972.
  • David Carpenter (born 1930): the "Trailside Killer".<ref name=FimriteDeathRow /> Sentenced to death in 1984 and 1988.<ref name=DeathRowList /> Carpenter is the oldest inmate currently.
  • Curtis Carroll (born 1968): Murderer turned financial adviser whose insights into investing and trading stock have earned the nickname "Wall Street".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Dean Carter (born 1955): serial killer convicted of murdering four women. Sentenced to death in 1985.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Steven David Catlin (born 1944): serial killer who poisoned two wives and his mother. Sentenced to death in 1990.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

  • Kevin Cooper (born 1958): convicted for the hatchet and knife massacre of the Ryen family. Sentenced to death in 1985.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Joseph Cosey: conman and criminal forger.
  • Henry Cowell: composer, served four years (1936-1940) for homosexual acts with a minor.
  • Tiequon Cox (born 1965): sentenced to death in 1986 for the 1984 murders of four relatives of the former defensive back NFL player Kermit Alexander.<ref>United Press International. Killer of four sentenced to die. Daily News of Los Angeles, May 1, 1986.</ref> He was involved in an escape attempt in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Louis Craine: serial killer who killed at least 4 women. Died from AIDS complications in hospital in 1989.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Jonathan Daniel D'Arcy (born 1962): a janitor from Buena Park, was convicted of first-degree murder in the February 2, 1993 burning death of Karen Marie Laborde, a 42-year-old mother of two who identified D'Arcy as her assailant before she died. D'Arcy was sentenced to death in Orange County on April 11, 1997.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Scott Dyleski: murdered attorney Daniel Horowitz's wife when he was 16 years old. Was held in San Quentin for several months before being transferred.
  • Sonny Enraca (born 1972): gang member who shot and killed Boyz n the Hood actor Dedrick D. Gobert during an altercation. Sentenced to death in 1996.
  • Pedro Espinoza (born 1989): 18th Street gang member who murdered Jamiel Shaw II. Sentenced to death in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • John Famalaro (born 1957): sentenced to death on September 6, 1997, for the kidnap, rape, and murder of 23-year-old Denise Anette Huber, from Newport Beach, California, in 1991. Famalaro abducted and murdered Denise on June 3, 1991.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was caught in July 1994 when police found her body in an icebox where he had kept her for three years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Richard Farley (born 1948): perpetrator of the Sunnyvale ESL shooting. Sentenced to death in 1992.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Rickie Lee Fowler (born 1984): convicted of setting the Old Fire that caused the deaths of five people. Sentenced to death in 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • John Linley Frazier: mass murderer and religious fanatic. Sentenced to death in 1971 but commuted to life in prison. Committed suicide by hanging in Mule Creek State Prison in 2009.
  • Gerald Gallego: serial killer and rapist who kidnapped young girls to keep as sex slaves before killing them with his wife as an accomplice. Was initially sentenced to death in San Quentin but was transferred to Nevada State Prison in 1984 to be executed for murders committed in that state. Died from cancer in Nevada Prison in 2002.
  • Alex García: boxer and former gang member who stabbed a rival to death.
  • Michael Gargiulo (born 1976): serial killer who killed at least three women. Sentenced to death in 2021.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Willie Earl Green: wrongfully convicted of murder and exonerated.
  • Griffith J. Griffith: industrialist who shot his wife through the eye.
  • Steve "Clem" Grogan: a former associate of the Charles Manson "Family". Released in 1985.
  • Jose Guerrero (born 1973): serial killer who killed at least three women from 1995 to 1998. Sentenced to death in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Merle Haggard: singer who spent time in San Quentin from 1958 to 1960.
  • Billy Ray Hamilton: hitman who murdered three witnesses for Clarence Ray Allen in 1980. Died of natural causes in hospital in 2007.
  • Charles Ray Hatcher: serial killer who murdered two young boys in the Bay Area. Released in 1977.
  • Larry Hazlett (born 1948): convicted of the 1978 rape and murder of 20-year-old Rosamond beauty queen Tana Woolley. Sentenced to death in 2004.
  • Glenn Helzer (born 1970): founder of the Children of Thunder cult, alongside his brother Justin Helzer and his girlfriend Dawn Godman, who murdered five people in 2000. Sentenced to death in 2005. Justin hanged himself in 2013.<ref name=DeathRowList /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Ivan Hill (born 1961): serial killer who killed at least nine women from 1979 to 1994. Sentenced to death in 2007.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Tomoya Kawakita: Japanese-American dual citizen convicted of treason for aiding Japan during World War II. Tomoya Kawakita appealed his conviction to the United States Supreme Court in Kawakita v. United States. Originally held in San Quentin for his upcoming execution before his death sentence was commuted to life in prison.
  • Roger Kibbe: serial killer who admitted to seven murders in Northern California. Killed at Mule Creek State Prison in 2021.
  • Randy Kraft (born 1945): serial killer who was convicted of 16 murders and suspected of 51 others. Sentenced to death in 1989.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Chol Soo Lee: wrongly convicted of murdering a gang boss and sentenced to life in prison. Was sentenced to death for killing an inmate during a fight but was released in 1983 with help from the Free Chol Soo Lee Defense Committee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • John Irving Lewis (born 1971): a member of the Gang of Four who were convicted in the Puente Hills Mall Murders in the summer of 1991.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Gunner Lindberg (born 1975): stabbed a Vietnamese man to death in a racially motivated attack. Sentenced to death in 1996.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Bruce Lisker: wrongly convicted in the 1983 murder of his mother, Dorka, when he was 17. Exonerated and released from prison in 2009, at age 44.<ref>Glover, Scott and Lait, Matt, "Lisker's 'surreal' return to society" "Los Angeles Times," August 23, 2009</ref>
  • Russ Little: member of the Symbionese Liberation Army accused of, but eventually acquitted of, the murder of educator Marcus Foster. Released and moved to Hawaii.<ref name="russ-little">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Franklin Lynch (born 1955): convicted serial killer and robber who is suspected in the murders of 13 elderly women in the East Bay during the summer of 1987. He was only charged for 3 murders and was sentenced to death in 1992.
  • Dorothy Mackaye, #440960, a woman, served less than ten months of a one- to three-year sentence in 1928<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref><ref name="Coughlin">Gene Coughlin, "Tragedies of the Stage", Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph (September 12, 1948), p. American Weekly, p. 7.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Kelvin Malone: convicted spree killer who murdered several people in California and Missouri. He was sentenced to death in both states and was extradited to Missouri in 1999 where he was executed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Charles Manson: leader of the Manson family. Transferred to multiple prisons during his life. Died from cancer in hospital on November 19, 2017.<ref>Lopez, Pablo. "Charles Manson Transferred to Corcoran Prison." Fresno Bee, March 16, 1989.</ref>
  • Jarvis Jay Masters (born 1962): convicted and sentenced to death for participating in the murder of Corrections Officer Hal Burchfield. Sentenced to death in 1990.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Timothy Joseph McGhee (born 1973): Toonerville Rifa 13 member believed to have shot at least 12 people between 1997 and 2001 and attempted to kill two LAPD officers in an ambush. Sentenced to death in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Charles "Chase" Merritt (born 1957): murdered the McStay family for financial gain. Sentenced to death in 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Andrew Mickel (born 1979): shot a police officer to death at a gas station. Sentenced to death in 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Earle Nelson: serial killer and necrophile who raped and murdered at least 21 women and an infant boy in the 1920s. Spent time in San Quentin for breaking and entering as a teenager.
  • Charles Ng (born 1960): serial killer who tortured and murdered 11 people with Leonard Lake (died by suicide by cyanide after arrest in 1985). Finally, Ng was extradited from Canada to the United States, and sentenced to death in February 1999.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Michael "Irish" O'Farrell: Hells Angels leader
  • Raymond Lee Oyler (born 1971): convicted of setting the Esperanza Fire that claimed the lives of five firemen. Sentenced to death in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Gerald Parker (born 1955): serial killer and rapist who killed at least six women and an unborn baby. Sentenced to death in 1999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Art Pepper: saxophonist and heroin addict who formed an ensemble with Frank Morgan.
  • Scott Peterson (born 1972): convicted of the murder of his pregnant wife Laci Peterson and their unborn child, Conner, in a much-publicized trial. Sentenced to death in 2005, resentenced to life without parole in 2021.<ref name=DeathRowList /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Gregory Powell: kidnapped two policemen and shot one of them dead in the Onion Field Murder. Sentenced to death but commuted to life in prison. Died from cancer in California Medical Facility in 2012.
  • Alfredo Prieto: serial killer and gang member who raped and shot five people in Southern California in 1990. Was transferred to Virginia and executed there for a double murder in 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Cleophus Prince Jr. (born 1967): serial killer who raped and murdered six women in San Diego in 1990. Sentenced to death in 1993.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Richard Ramirez: serial killer known as "The Night Stalker",<ref name=FimriteDeathRow /> convicted of killing 13 people. Sentenced to death in 1989.<ref>Webber, Dawn. Ramirez gets death sentence for 13 murders. Daily News of Los Angeles, November 8, 1989.</ref> Died of lymphoma in hospital in 2013.
  • David Allen Raley (born 1961): security guard who kidnapped and tortured two teenage girls, killing one of them. Sentenced to death in 1988.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Abe Ruef: San Francisco political boss, for bribery.
  • Ramon Salcido (born 1961): convicted in 1989 of seven murders, including six relatives and his boss. Sentenced to death in 1990.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • San Quentin Six: six inmates who participated in a riot during an escape attempt in 1971 that resulted in the deaths of six people. Fleeta Drumgo was shot dead after he was released in 1979 and Hugo Pinell was stabbed to death during a riot in 2015 after spending 45 years in solitary confinement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Vincent Sanchez (born 1973): the "Simi Valley Rapist". Serial rapist convicted of 75 counts including a first degree murder charge, felony kidnapping, burglary, rape, and other sex offense charges against numerous victims. Sentenced to death in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Sanyika Shakur: Member of the Crips and author. Spent 36 months in San Quentin.
  • Glen Sherley: musician who spent time in San Quentin in the 1960s.
  • Wesley Shermantine (born 1966): one half of the Speed Freak Killers serial killer duo, believed to have killed as many as 70 people. Sentenced to death in 2001. His accomplice, Loren Herzog, committed suicide in 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Mitchell Sims (born 1960): convicted May 20, 1987, of the hotel-room murder of Domino's Pizza deliveryman John Harrington in Glendale; also sentenced to death in South Carolina for the murders of two Domino's employees in that state. Sentenced to death in 1987.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Lawrence Singleton: raped and cut the forearms off a teenage girl before leaving her for dead. Was controversially released after serving eight years and was forced to live on the grounds of San Quentin in a trailer while on parole.<ref>Taylor, Michael. Lawrence Singleton, despised rapist, dies. He chopped off teenager's arms in 1978. Template:Webarchive San Francisco Chronicle, January 1, 2002. Accessed January 14, 2009.</ref> Murdered a woman in Florida and died in North Florida Reception Center in 2001.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Sirhan Sirhan: assassin of Robert F. Kennedy, sent to death row at San Quentin in May 1969.<ref>"Sirhan Transferred to San Quentin in Secret Night Flight." Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1969.</ref> After the California Supreme Court struck down the death penalty as cruel and unusual punishment, Sirhan was transferred to Correctional Training Facility.<ref>Gorney, Cynthia. "Sirhan Sirhan Feels 10 Years Is Long Enough in Prison." Los Angeles Times. September 23, 1979.</ref> He is currently at Donovan State Prison.
  • Cary Stayner (born 1961): serial killer convicted of killing four women in Yosemite. Sentenced to death in 2002.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • William Suff (born 1950): serial killer convicted of murdering 12 women in Riverside County. Sentenced to death in 1995.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Regis Deon Thomas (born 1970): convicted of the murders of three people including two Compton Police officers. Sentenced to death in 1995.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Danny Trejo: actor—inmate between 1965 and 1968.
  • Chester Turner (born 1966): serial killer convicted of murdering 14 women in Los Angeles between 1987 and 1998. Sentenced to death in 2007.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • John Pence Wagner: prison evangelist-inmate between 1966 and 1972. writer of the poem featured on the rear cover of the 1971 album "Guilty!" by Jimmy Witherspoon and Eric Burdon. Died from cancer in 1999.
  • Darnell Keith Washington (born 1988): convicted of killing a woman during a home invasion. Sentenced to death in 2016.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Tex Watson: a former associate of the Charles Manson "Family" currently serving a life sentence in prison.
  • Ward Weaver Jr. (born 1947): father of convicted murderer Ward Weaver III, who shot and killed two teenagers. Sentenced to death in 1985.
  • Marcus Wesson (born 1946): convicted of killing nine of his family members. Sentenced to death in 2005.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • David Westerfield (born 1952): convicted of kidnapping and killing seven-year-old Danielle van Dam. Sentenced to death in 2003.<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Anthony Wimberly: serial killer arrested for grand theft auto. Currently incarcerated in Mule Creek State Prison.
  • Earlonne Woods: convicted of attempted armed robbery. Most known for his work in co-creating and co-hosting the award-winning podcast, Ear Hustle along with Nigel Poor. His sentence was commuted by Governor Jerry Brown on November 30, 2018.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Daniel Wozniak (born 1984): convicted of murdering and dismembering Samuel Herr and then murdering Julie Kibuishi in a plot to steal money to fund his wedding. Sentenced to death in 2016.<ref name=DeathRowList />

Deaths in prisonEdit

  • Stuart Alexander: convicted in the 2000 shooting deaths of three USDA meat officials he claimed were harassing him. Sentenced to death in 2004. Died from a pulmonary embolism on December 27, 2005.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Robert Biehler: serial killer responsible for four murders in Los Angeles. Died from cancer on January 10, 1993.
  • Lawrence Bittaker: serial killer convicted of torturing and murdering five teenage girls. Found dead in his cell on December 13, 2019<ref name=DeathRowList />
  • Richard Chase: "vampire killer", in 1979 sentenced to death in gas chamber for murdering six people. Committed suicide by drug overdose on December 26, 1980.<ref>Notorious galleries. Richard Chase. The "Vampire Killer." Template:Webarchive Sacramento Bee. Accessed January 10, 2009.</ref>
  • Doug Clark: serial killer and necrophile who killed six women with a female accomplice. Sentenced to death in 1983. Died of natural causes on October 11, 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Anthony McKnight: serial killer, rapist, and kidnapper sentenced to death for the murders of five women in 1985. Found dead in his cell on October 17, 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • James Mitose: martial artist convicted of murder. Died from diabetes complications on March 26, 1981.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • J. C. X. Simon: member of a group of Black Muslims who committed racially motivated murders in San Francisco in the 1970s known as the Zebra murders. Found dead in his cell on March 12, 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Morris Solomon, Jr.: serial killer convicted of murdering six women in Sacramento. Sentenced to death in 1992.<ref name=DeathRowList /> Died on August 1, 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Mark Squires: sex offender convicted of assaulting minors in Riverside County. Found dead in his cell on September 17, 2024, with a homicide investigation pending.<ref name="squires">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Anthony Sully: serial killer and former police officer convicted of murdering six people in Burlingame in 1983. Sentenced to death in 1986.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Andrew Urdiales, serial killer who killed eight women. Committed suicide on November 2, 2018.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Brandon Wilson: convicted in the 1998 slashing death of nine-year-old Matthew Cecchi. Sentenced to death in 1999.<ref name=DeathRowList /> Committed suicide on November 17, 2011.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Leung Ying: mass murder who killed 11 people on a farm with a rifle and hatchet. Sentenced to death and committed suicide in his cell two weeks before his execution.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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COVID-19 related deathsEdit

In 2020, 12 death row inmates at San Quentin died in the span of less than two months after a COVID-19 outbreak. All of the inmates were hospitalized before their deaths.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Richard Eugene Stitely, 71, died on June 24, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Joseph S. Cordova, 75, died on July 1, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Dewayne Michael Carey, 59, died on July 4, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • David John Reed, 60, died on July 7, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jeffrey Jay Hawkins, 64, died on July 15, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Troy Adam Ashmus, 58, died on July 20, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • John Michael Beames, 67, died on July 21, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Johnny Avila Jr., 62, died on July 26, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Orlando Gene Romero, 48, died on August 2, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Pedro Arias, 58, died on August 9, 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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ExecutedEdit

File:Gaschamber.jpg
The San Quentin gas chamber originally employed lethal hydrogen cyanide gas for the purpose of carrying out capital punishment. It was later converted to a lethal injection execution chamber but was restored to its original purpose when a new lethal injection chamber was built.
  • Theodore Durrant: convicted of murdering two women in San Francisco. Executed by hanging on January 7, 1898.<ref>Durrant dies. Los Angeles Times, January 8, 1898.</ref>
  • Willie Louis: son of Ah Louis, convicted of the murder of Gon Ying Louis. Executed by hanging on December 16, 1912.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Louis Fortine: convicted of murdering his employer, Peter M. Furrer, and Furrer's wife and infant. Executed by hanging on July 21, 1916.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Mose Gibson: convicted of murdering a man but confessed to seven total murders before his death. Executed by hanging on September 24, 1920.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • William Edward Hickman: convicted of kidnapping, mutilating, and murdering 12-year-old Marion Parker, died by hanging on October 19, 1928.<ref>Healey, Floyd J. Fiend pays with life. Hickman faints on gallows. Los Angeles Times, October 20, 1928.</ref>
  • Gordon Stewart Northcott: convicted of killing three boys in the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, executed by hanging on October 2, 1930.<ref>Healey, Floyd J. Northcott executed. Confusing notes left behind. Los Angeles Times, October 3, 1930.</ref>
  • Ed Davis: bank robber who killed a warden during an escape attempt from Folsom State Prison. Executed by gas chamber on December 16, 1938.
  • William Johansen: serial killer who murdered three women, including his wife, in New York and California between 1933 and 1940; executed by gas chamber on September 5, 1941.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Juanita Spinelli: first woman executed in San Quentin's gas chamber on November 22, 1941.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Raymond "Rattlesnake James" Lisenba: convicted of killing his wife, he was the last man to be executed by hanging in California on May 1, 1942.<ref>James pays with life in wife killing. Former barber hanged at San Quentin for 'rattlesnake murder.' Los Angeles Times, May 2, 1942.</ref>
  • Sam Shockley and Miran Edgar Thompson: convicted of killing a guard in the 1946 Battle of Alcatraz escape attempt, executed together in the gas chamber on December 3, 1948.<ref>Two Alcatraz convicts die in gas chamber. Los Angeles Times, December 4, 1948.</ref>
  • Louise Peete: convicted murderer, executed in the gas chamber on April 11, 1947.<ref>Sherman, Gene. Louise Peete meets doom, calm till end. Smile of farewell given to warden from gas chamber. Los Angeles Times, April 12, 1947.</ref>
  • Billy Cook: murderer of Carl Mosser, his wife Thelma, their three small children and motorist Robert Dewey. He died in the gas chamber on December 12, 1952.<ref>Cook, slayer of six, dies in gas chamber. Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1952.</ref>
  • Lloyd Gomez: convicted serial killer who murdered nine homeless men, executed in the gas chamber on October 16, 1953.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Barbara Graham: convicted murderer, executed in the gas chamber on June 3, 1955.<ref>Babs, Santo, Perkins gassed after delays. Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1955.</ref>
  • Burton Abbott: convicted of the rape and murder of a teenage girl; executed in the gas chamber on March 15, 1957.<ref>Gov. Knight call late to halt Abbott death; telephoned reprieve for kidnap-slayer comes as pellets fall. Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1957.</ref>
  • Vender Duncan: convicted of raping and murdering two elderly women, executed in the gas chamber on May 29, 1959.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Harvey Glatman: convicted of raping and strangling two women, he died in the gas chamber on September 18, 1959.<ref>Models' killer Glatman dies. Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1959.</ref>
  • Caryl Chessman: convicted rapist, was given the death penalty in 1948 and executed on May 2, 1960.<ref>Chessman denies guilt as he dies. Los Angeles Times, May 3, 1960.</ref> The last man executed in California for a sexual offense that did not also involve murder.
  • Henry Busch: convicted serial killer who murdered three women and planned to murder a fourth. Executed by gas chamber on June 6, 1962.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Elizabeth Ann Duncan: convicted of hiring two men to kill her daughter-in-law, executed by gas chamber on August 8, 1962. Fourth and last woman to be executed in San Quentin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Aaron Mitchell: convicted of shooting a Sacramento police officer, executed by gas chamber on April 12, 1967.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
  • Robert Alton Harris: convicted of murdering two boys after serving time for manslaughter, died in the gas chamber on April 21, 1992.<ref>Morrison, Patt. Final legal war troubling to both sides. Reaction: Most remain firm in views on capital punishment. But many agree that chaotic court wrangling added an aura of inhumanity to the proceedings. Los Angeles Times, April 22, 1992.</ref>
  • David Mason: convicted serial killer, he was the last man to be executed in the gas chamber on August 24, 1993.<ref>Killers are executed in Texas and California. New York Times, August 25, 1993. Accessed January 4, 2009.</ref>
  • William Bonin: convicted serial killer, the "Freeway Killer" (one of three men to have the same nickname) became the first person in California history to be executed by lethal injection on February 23, 1996.<ref>Chiang, Harriet, Kevin Fagan, and Henry K. Lee. 'Freeway Killer' put to death. Bonin loses last-ditch appeals. Template:Webarchive San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 1996. Accessed January 4, 2009.</ref>
  • Keith Daniel Williams: convicted triple murderer, executed by lethal injection on May 3, 1996.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Thomas Martin Thompson: convicted of the 1981 killing of Ginger Fleischli, executed by lethal injection on July 14, 1998.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Jaturun Siripongs: convicted of two 1981 murders, executed by lethal injection on February 9, 1999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Manny Babbitt: convicted murderer who died by lethal injection on May 4, 1999.<ref>Brooks, Clark. War hero's life ends in death chamber. San Diego Union-Tribune, May 5, 1999.</ref>
  • Darrell Keith Rich: convicted serial killer, executed by lethal injection on March 15, 2000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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AdministrationEdit

  • Leo Stanley (1886 – 1976), American surgeon who served as the Chief Surgeon from 1913 to 1951.<ref name="SF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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In mediaEdit

Template:In popular culture

TelevisionEdit

  • San Quentin is on the rotation of prisons featured on MSNBC's show Lockup, a TV documentary series on life in prison.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Performances and music videosEdit

  • Country music singer Johnny Cash performed at San Quentin at least twice in his career. The first was in 1958, which included among its audience members a young and incarcerated Merle Haggard. Upon his release from prison, Haggard was inspired to pursue music in part because of that concert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Eleven years later, on February 24, 1969, Cash played another live concert for the prison inmates. The 1969 concert was released as an album At San Quentin and as a television documentary Johnny Cash in San Quentin (filmed by Granada Television). "A Boy Named Sue", taken from the concert, was Cash's only Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit, peaking at number two, and winning the 1970 Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. During the concert, the song "San Quentin", about an inmate's loathing for the prison, received such an enthusiastic response that Cash immediately played an encore.<ref>Black, C. Clifton. The man in the black: Johnny Cash. Christian Century, October 4, 2003. Accessed January 2, 2009.</ref>

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  • In 2003, heavy metal band Metallica filmed the music video for their song "St. Anger" from the album of the same name in San Quentin, which featured many of the prison inmates and security staff, and also included then-new bassist Robert Trujillo for the first time since being inducted into the band. Parts of the filming of the "St. Anger" video and behind the scenes were included in the group's Some Kind of Monster film in 2004.
  • On September 7, 2022, the hard rock band Nickelback released a song named "San Quentin".

FilmEdit

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  • The 2013 film Fruitvale Station used the prison, in which real life character Oscar Grant did time, as a filming location for a flashback scene. Actual prisoners served as extras.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Fiction, literature and publicationsEdit

Gang-pulp author Margie Harris wrote a story on San Quentin for the short-lived pulp magazine Prison Stories. The story, titled "Big House Boomerang", appeared in the March 1931 issue. It used San Quentin's brutal jute mill as its setting. Harris' knowledge of the prison came from her days as a newspaper reporter in the Bay Area, and her acquaintance with famous San Quentin prisoner Ed Morrell.<ref>Locke, John; editor. City of Numbered Men: The Best of Prison Stories, Off-Trail Publications, 2010. Template:ISBN.</ref>

The 1915 novel The Star Rover by Jack London was based in San Quentin. A framing story is told in the first person by Darrell Standing, a university professor serving life imprisonment in San Quentin State Prison for murder. Prison officials try to break his spirit by means of a torture device called "the jacket", a canvas jacket which can be tightly laced so as to compress the whole body, inducing angina. Standing discovers how to withstand the torture by entering a kind of trance state, in which he walks among the stars and experiences portions of past lives.

PodcastsEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

  • Ashcroft, Lionel "San Quentin Prison, Its Early History and Origins" in Marin County Historical Society Magazine, Vol XVII Spring 1993
  • Bonner, John C. Hang tough: San Quentin. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1968.
  • Bookspan, Shelley. A Germ of Goodness: The California State Prison System 1851–1944. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln 1991
  • Braly, Malcolm. False starts: a memoir of San Quentin and other prisons. Boston: Little, Brown, 1976. Template:ISBN.
  • Burke, Dennis. Doing time: finding hope at San Quentin. New York: Paulist Press, 2008. Template:ISBN.
  • Davidson, R. Theodore. Chicano prisoners; the key to San Quentin. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974. Template:ISBN.
  • Duffy, Clinton T., and Dean Southern Jennings. The San Quentin story. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1950.
  • Lamott, Kenneth Church. Chronicles of San Quentin; the biography of a prison. New York: D. McKay Co., 1961.
  • Leibert, Julius A., and Emily Kingsbery. Behind bars; what a chaplain saw in Alcatraz, Folsom, and San Quentin. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965.
  • Leshne, Carla. "San Quentin Prison: The Origins of the California Corrections System" FoundSF San Quentin Prison: The Origins of the California "Corrections" System - FoundSF
  • Liberatore, Paul. The road to hell: the true story of George Jackson, Stephen Bingham, and the San Quentin Massacre. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1996. Template:ISBN.
  • Nichols, Nancy Ann, James Delahunty, and Alan Hammond Nichols. San Quentin inside the walls. San Quentin, CA: San Quentin Museum Press, 1991. Template:ISBN.
  • Owen, Barbara A. The reproduction of social control: a study of prison workers at San Quentin. New York: Praeger, 1988. Template:ISBN.
  • Tannenbaum, Judith. Disguised as a poem: my years teaching poetry at San Quentin. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000. Template:ISBN.

External linksEdit

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