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Former San Quentin guard publishes book John Wedgwood Golden says 'Q' still haunts him Comment By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted May. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted May. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News SELMA — John Wedgwood Golden lives quietly these days with his wife in a house tucked away in a remote, wooded area near Selma. The peaceful spot, surrounded by birds, trees and fresh air, is light years away from the dark, dangerous, concrete world in which he started out. Golden used to be a guard at San Quentin State Prison, a notorious prison that sits incongruously on a pretty swath of land in Marin County that boasts million-dollar views of San Francisco Bay. Back when Golden worked there, San Quentin was a maximum-security prison that housed the worst of the worst criminals, including Charles Manson. Golden grew up on prison grounds. His father was a medical technical assistant at San Quentin, and the family lived in staff housing just outside the prison walls. He was hired as a prison guard in 1972 and worked there until 1980, when he said he was fired for smuggling a camera into the prison. Life went on, and the photographs he took of San Quentin were put away for decades. But the photos' existence always nagged at him. Wanting to share his perspective on life behind prison walls, he recently published a book, titled "Once Upon a Time at San Quentin," available at amazon.com . The book showcases his photographs and includes stories about his time at "Q," as he calls it. The book touches on infamous happenings at San Quentin — including the Aug. 21, 1971, escape attempt by the so-called "San Quentin Six" that left three guards and three inmates dead — but Golden devotes more space to lesser-known events, such as the murder of his friend and colleague, Richard "Ocho" Ochoa, who was beaten to death by several inmates in a prison laundry room in 1976. He also tells the story of when he accompanied his father into the prison to get a haircut one day when he was 7. The barber, who was in prison for killing his wife with a hatchet, used a straight razor when giving his dad a shave. Golden said security measures have changed since then. "It was more of an honor system in those days," he said. In an interview with the Daily Courier, Golden recalled his last interaction with Manson, whom he called "Charlie." "Charlie was a very likable guy," Golden said. "He was a very disarming character, which made him dangerous for that very reason." That day in September 1975, Manson asked Golden to loosen the strings on his guitar, which was stored away in a property room, because he didn't want the guitar to become warped by the tension. The next day, Manson was suddenly whisked away to Folsom State Prison after one of his followers, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford. Life in prison isn't boring — and it changes you, Golden said. "You have to develop a criminal mind, as does the inmate, in order to communicate, to get by, to function," he said. Golden said he didn't care what crimes individual inmates had committed. "It's the last thing you care about as an officer, what they're in for ... You're concerned with what's happening the next minute. It's a real 'right now' situation," he said. "You will always watch your back." The hard part, he said, was adjusting back to life on the outside once the work day ended. "Going back and forth is actually more of a psychological trauma than if you stayed in," he said. Golden said he wanted to give the outside world an insider's view into San Quentin, so he began smuggling his camera into the prison in a satchel when he went to work each day. He took photos for three years without being caught. Some of the photos are self portraits, and show Golden as a thin young man with a full beard and mustache in his California Department of Corrections uniform. Others show prison landscapes, or inmates interacting with guards and each other. After his employment was terminated, Golden moved to Hawaii and became a "beach bum" for a while. Those were the days before people talked about things like post-traumatic stress disorder, but Golden said Hawaii helped heal the wounds created by all of the terrible things he had seen at San Quentin. He later met his future wife, Jill, while visiting Josephine County, and they married. Golden said he wrote the book to share his experiences, but also to speak out against the prison system, which he believes is ineffective. He would like to see prison populations reduced and have all wardens be elected by the people rather than appointed by the state. He also has some more radical ideas, which he acknowledges likely will raise some eyebrows. He wants to see the firing squad brought back for executions and believes there should be a four-tier sentence structure for convicted criminals: one year in prison, two years, four years, or death. "Why are we warehousing people forever?" he asked. "It's insanity. If people are such a danger to society, they should be executed or released." Golden said that if there's one sound from San Quentin he'll never forget, it's the "high-pitched shrill of a panic-stricken whistle." Even if he hadn't brought the photos back out and resurrected all of his memories, Golden said San Quentin would still haunt him. "It'll always be etched in my mind, 'Q,' forever," he said. Reach reporter Melissa McRobbie at 541-474-3806 or [email protected]. By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted May. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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