He is best known for his work with families on public cases involving persons in a persistent vegetative state.
[1] Cranford spent his career at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, attaining the rank of Professor of Medicine in 1993.
In the mid-1970s, Dr. Cranford founded and chaired the Thanatology Committee at Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, to examine and improve end-of-life care.
Dr. Cranford published about 60 articles in the medical literature principally on states of unconsciousness and end-of-life care.
In March 2006, his last letter in The Lancet condemned the force-feeding of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.