On September 16, 2026, the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation marks the 55th anniversary of the line-of-duty death of Corrections Employee Ronald L. Turner.

Ronald served as a laundry supervisor at Folsom State Prison. Although he did not wear the uniform of a correctional officer, he worked behind the walls and faced the dangers inherent in the correctional profession. His position was essential to the daily operation of the institution and placed him alongside uniformed staff in service to public safety.

On September 16, 1971, Ronald was working in the prison laundry when he was fatally stabbed by an incarcerated individual. The assailant was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Ronald was only 29 years old and had served with the California Department of Corrections for two years. He left behind his wife and four children.

Fifty-five years later, those facts still convey only part of the loss. Ronald was not simply a state employee whose life ended inside a correctional institution. He was a husband, father, uncle and loved one whose absence followed his family through holidays, celebrations and milestones he should have been there to share.

Years after his death, Ronald’s nephew Patrick remembered the fun they shared during family holidays and wrote of how much he continued to miss his Uncle Ron.

Perhaps the most powerful glimpse of Ronald’s lasting place within his family came from his daughter, Debby Bay. When she married, her father could not be there to walk beside her. Instead, she carried his ring as she walked down the aisle with her mother—a deeply personal way of keeping him close during one of life’s most important moments.

Her remembrance illustrates a truth understood by every surviving family: a line-of-duty death is not confined to a single date. The loss is felt again at weddings, graduations, birthdays and countless ordinary moments when a loved one should still be present.

Ronald’s story also reminds us that correctional service extends far beyond those who wear a badge. Institutions depend upon civilian employees who work in maintenance, food service, administration, education, healthcare, industries, transportation and many other essential assignments. They enter the same secure environments and share many of the same risks.

Their service matters. Their sacrifices must also be remembered.

Corrections Employee Ronald L. Turner
Folsom State Prison
California Department of Corrections
End of Watch: September 16, 1971

Fifty-five years after his death, we remember Ronald’s service, speak his name and honor the family that has carried his memory forward.

He will never be forgotten.