Jeanne Woodford is a criminal justice consultant, retired Chief of Adult Probation for the City and County of San Francisco, former Undersecretary and Director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the former Warden of San Quentin State Prison.
Jeanne Woodford launched her career in corrections in 1978 when she began working as a California correctional officer at San Quentin State Prison. In 1999, she became the first female warden at San Quentin, having been appointed to serve in that position by Governor Davis. Ms. Woodford served as warden until 2004 and during her time as warden she oversaw the execution of four men on California's death row. During her time working as a corrections administrator, she developed and implemented a variety of rehabilitative programs for prisoners, including The Success Dorm, the first reentry program in a California prison.
When she started her long career as a professional in corrections, she believed she would be able to help implement changes and improve programming. In hindsight, she came to realize that being involved in executions had an impact on her. The executions she oversaw still woke her up in the middle of the night for many years.
Woodford said that:
[The fact that she still thinks about it a lot] really lets me know that being involved in the execution process, seeing it up close and personal as I have from all points of view: the point of view of the correctional officers, the victim’s family members, seeing the system as it works, has taught me that I was involved in something that is really hurtful to people from all points of view.*
*the above excerpt featuring this quote by Jeanne Woodford was taken from the following article (click link below):
The Weight of Capital Punishment on Jurors, Justices, Governors, & Executioners
Articles written by Jeanne Woodford for LA Progressive:
Ending California's Death Penalty to Solve More Crimes
California's Death Penalty: 366 Days Down, 68 More to Go
Huff Post Articles written by Jeanne Woodford
Jeanne Woodford- featured articles gathered by Berkely Law
On March 23, 2023, I sat down with Jeanne Woodford at her home in Benicia, California to learn more about her experience serving as the warden at San Quentin State Prison. The primary focus of our conversation centered on her experience as the warden supervising, thereby witnessing, the execution of four death row prisoners. She shared the trauma that she has endured from her experiences as a witness to these executions and her subsequent involvement in the movement that was organized to abolish the death penalty in California.