Correctional Officer William C. Shull

William C. Shull

Correctional Officer William Shull was beaten and stabbed to death at Soledad Prison by inmates in retaliation for the deaths of three inmates earlier in the year.

Officer Shull was stabbed more than forty times with a metal file that had been sharpened into a shank. His body was found in the equipment shack of the recreation yard in the North Facility after an anonymous call at 10:00 a.m.

Earlier in the year, on January 16, 1970, Correctional Officer John Mills was beaten to death in retaliation for the same three deaths.

On July 21, 1971, Officer Leo Davis was stabbed to death at the San Quentin State Prison while guarding a prisoner who was a witness to Officer Shull's murder. Three inmates were attempting to gain access to the prisoner's hospital cell to murder him and attacked Officer Davis in an attempt to get his keys.

All three inmates were charged with first-degree murder. Two of the inmates were tried and acquitted in March of 1972. The evidence revealed that it was the third inmate who killed Officer Mills. That inmate, who was awaiting his trial at San Quentin, was shot and killed by a guard during a prison riot on August 21, 1971. The riot, which he was personally responsible for starting, resulted in the deaths of three Correctional Officers: Officer Frank Deleon, Sergeant Jere Graham, and Officer Paul Krasenes.

Officer Shull was a United States Army veteran and had served with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for one year. He was survived by his wife and four children.