The actors playing Whit Whittier as an adult (William Campbell) and a boy (R. Wright Campbell) are real-life brothers.
The birth name of Caryl Chessman was Caryl Whittier Chessman and his father's name was Whittier Serl Chessman. Whit Whittier is the name given to the protagonist of this film.
Despite being promoted as the true story of Caryl Chessman, on whose book it was based, 'Cell 2455 Death Row' names its protagonist 'Whit Whittier' and, oddly enough, carries the usual disclaimer during the title credits: "The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to the name, character or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional".
Caryl Chessman, who wrote the book as an autobiography while on death row, was eventually executed in 1960 at age 38. At the time, he had spent over eleven years on death row, the longest any American had lived on death row.