Clinton Truman Duffy Explained

Clinton Truman Duffy (1898–1982) was the warden of San Quentin State Prison between 1940 and 1952.^[1] He was a prominent opponent of capital punishment.^[1]

Life

His father was a guard at San Quentin, he was raised on the prison grounds, and his wife's father was also a San Quentin guard.^[1]

The 1954 film Duffy of San Quentin tells his story as a warden.^[2] His accomplishments during his tenure as warden include:^{[1] [3]}

• Elimination of corporal punishment
• Improvement of food services
• Establishment of vocational training
• Founding of an Alcoholics Anonymous program
• Desegregation of the dining hall
• Creation of the first prisoner-developed radio programs inside a prison
• Inauguration of a prison newspaper

He was known to walk unarmed among the prisoners and to chat with them.^{[1] [3]} Although he "supervised 90 executions during his tenure as warden", he opposed capital punishment.^[1]

After he left San Quentin, he worked for the state's parole board; in addition, he wrote books and gave lectures about capital punishment.^[1] He died in Walnut Creek, California, at the age of 84.^[1]

Works

• Duffy, Clinton T., and Dean Southern Jennings. The San Quentin Story. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1950.
• Duffy, Clinton T. 88 Men and 2 Women. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1962.
• Duffy, Clinton T., and Al Hirshberg. Sex and Crime. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965.
• Duffy, Clinton T., and Eva Irene Linkletter. From Heroin to San Quentin. Morro Bay, CA: Java Books, 1977.

External links

• A biography by William J. Duffy, Jr., a brother
• A biography by Charles B. White, a lifelong friend
• Speech delivered by Clinton T. Duffy to the Comstock Club of Sacramento, California

Notes and References

1. News: Gene . Blake . Famed warden Duffy of San Quentin dead at 84 . . October 14, 1982.
2. News: Duffy of San Quentin (1954) . https://web.archive.org/web/20090610021956/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/90123/Duffy-of-San-Quentin/overview . dead . 2009-06-10 . 2009-01-11 . Bosley . Movies & TV Dept. . . . Bosley Crowther . 2009 . Crowther.
3. News: Mister San Quentin . https://web.archive.org/web/20101119014438/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,815769,00.html . dead . November 19, 2010 . 2009-01-12 . . 1952-01-07.