Harley Oliver Teets (14 November 1906 in Terra Alta, Preston County, West Virginia[1] – 1 September 1957 in Marin, California[2]) was the warden of San Quentin State Prison from 1951 until his death in 1957.
During that time he presided over executions performed in San Quentin's notorious gas chamber.
He reached the level of lieutenant before being hired as a captain at California's Folsom State Prison in the 1940s.
[4] An investigation of alleged brutality during Teets' tenure was prompted by a series of articles in the San Francisco Chronicle written by a young Pierre Salinger.
[6] Teets was known to be compassionate toward condemned prisoners, often sitting with them prior to their executions in San Quentin's gas chamber.