Leo L. Stanley Scrapbooks and Papers, 1849-1974 (bulk
1928-1965), MS 2061
For those drawn to the more colorful figures in California history, the
recently re-processed and cataloged Leo L. Stanley collection might be of
interest.
Dr. Stanley received a fair amount of notoriety in the press
when it was revealed in 1928 that he was performing medical experiments on prisoners
while acting as Chief Medical Officer at San Quentin State Prison. Less known,
however, is that he was an enthusiastic pen-pal with some of San Quentin’s more
infamous prisoners, including J.P. “Bluebeard” Watson, who was convicted for
the murder of fifteen women.
This letter, from Watson to Stanley , is representative of the intimate
tone found in much of the correspondence between Stanley and the convicts he
cared for (regardless of the severity of their crimes).
While Stanley’s personal and professional anecdotes are
fascinating in their own right, his scrapbooks and papers also illuminate
broader themes, including the history of San Quentin, the California prison
system, convict labor, and human experimentation in medicine.
The new guide to the collection can be found on the Online
Archive of California at http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c80863rn
Megan Hickey Nespeco, Library Volunteer