Harley Oliver Teets (14 November 1906 in Terra Alta, Preston County, West Virginia – 1 September 1957 in

Marin, California Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

) was the warden of

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

from 1951 until his death in 1957. During that time he presided over executions performed in San Quentin's notorious gas chamber. Teets is probably best known for seizing the manuscript of one of condemned prisoner

Caryl Chessman Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper and serial rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 counts a ...

's books, arguing that since it was written on death row, it constituted " prison labor".

Career

Teets began his career in correctional service as a guard in various federal penitentiaries. He reached the level of lieutenant before being hired as a captain at California's

Folsom State Prison Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabi ...

in the 1940s. He became associate warden under

Clinton Duffy Clinton Truman Duffy (1898–1982) was the warden of San Quentin State Prison between 1940 and 1952. He was a prominent opponent of capital punishment. Life His father was a guard at San Quentin, he was raised on the prison grounds, and his wife ...

, and succeeded Duffy as warden in late 1951. Teets remained warden until his sudden death from coronary thrombosis in 1957. In the 1930s, San Quentin had a reputation as a violent and corrupt institution. Duffy had done much to reform San Quentin during his tenure as warden. An investigation of alleged brutality during Teets' tenure was prompted by a series of articles in the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

written by a young Pierre Salinger.(Howard) Under Teets, a 1953 contest, open to all inmates, resulted in artist and inmate Alfredo Santos painting four giant murals on interior walls of San Quentin's South Block. Teets was known to be compassionate toward condemned prisoners, often sitting with them prior to their executions in San Quentin's gas chamber.

References in popular culture

*Teets is acknowledged in the title credits of '' House of Numbers,'' a 1957 film noir shot at San Quentin. *In the 1977 movie ''Kill Me If You Can,'' about the trial and execution of

, Teets is played by character actor

Edward Mallory Edward Mallory (born Edward Ralph Martz; June 14, 1930 – April 4, 2007) was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bill Horton on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', which he played from 1966 to 1980. Mallory once was married to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teets, Harley Oliver 1906 births 1957 deaths People from Preston County, West Virginia American law enforcement officials San Quentin State Prison wardens Deaths from coronary thrombosis