LICEUL TEORETIC CARMEN SYLVA EFORIE SUD

THE LEGENDS OF PRISON ALCATRAZ

Certificate of competence in English

Coordinator: Student:Bogdan Georgiana Nica Gheorghe

-MAY 2015-Table of contentsI. ArgumentII. IntroductionIII. Brief historyIV. Life in prisonV. Famous1. Robert Stroud2. George Machine-gun Kelly3. James Whitey Bulger4. Al caponeVI. Escape attemptsVII. Native American occupationVIII. Land marking and developmentIX. Questions and answers1. How big was an average cell?2. How many cells were there?3. Were Alcatraz inmates allowed visitors?4. Where did the families of the guard staff live?5. Do the inmates who were imprisoned at Alcatraz have anything good to say about the prison?6. What did inmates dislike most about Alcatraz?7. How many prisoners were executed at Alcatraz?8. How many people died while at Alcatraz?9. How many prisoners did Alcatraz have at any given time?10. What was the average stay?11. How many people escaped?12. Why did Alcatraz closed?13. How many birds did Robert Stroud keep while on Alcatraz?14. Was it true that inmates were locked in dungeons for punishment?X. Final statementXI. Bibliography

Argument

Introduction

Alcatraz,which earned the nickname of the Rock,was the ultimate American prison. Blood letters and bad men and assorted public enemies like Al Capone[footnoteRef:1], Alvin Karpis[footnoteRef:2] and Machine-Gun Kelly[footnoteRef:3] and others, called this place the end of the line. For 29 years,the damp,fogged-in prison kept the countrys most notorious criminals put away from the rest of the world. The heavy mists,cold wind and water and the foghorns of the bay made Alcatraz the loneliest of the prisons. [1: An Italian American gangster who led a crime syndicate and other illegal activities during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and 1930s] [2: Was a noted criminal in the United States known for his alliance with the Barker gang in the 1930s. His stay at Alcatraz, a little over 25 years, was longer than any other inmate interned there] [3: Is considered one of the most famous gangsters from the prohibition era.]

From the mid 1930s until the mid 1960s, Alcatraz was Americas premier maximum-security prison,the final stop for the nations most incorrigible inmates.Today, Alcatraz is a place of contradictions,with a grim past and an enduring future as one of San Franciscos most prominent landmarks and tourist attractions.Imagine yourself cold and shivering on a damp and thickly fogged-in morning.Heavy steel shackles squeeze your wrists and ankles,and the constricting metal seems to amplify the cold.Your movements are constrained,which makes it difficult to maintain your balance as you embark on the island ferry.You catch a brief glimpse of what will soon be your new home across the foggy bayYour new roommates are considered the most hardened criminals in the American penal system.Their resumes boast crimes ranging from kidnapping to espionage,bank robbery to murder.As you disembark with the firm aasistance of a correctional officer,he smiles,looking up toward the cell-house,and utters words that will never leave your memory:Welcome home,welcome to Alcatraz.Each year over one million tourists board the Alcatraz ferry and visit what was once considered the toughest Federal prisons in America.Today, Alcatraz is one of the biggest tourist magnets and most famous landmarks of San Francisco.The islands mystique,which was created primarily by books and motion pictures,continues to lure people from all over the world to see firsthand where America housed its most notorious criminals.Cramped cells,rigid discipline,and hard-line routine were the Alcatraz trademarks, and it was the last stop for the nations most incorrigible prisoners.On any given day,you can find thousands wandering the island and taking in its unique history.The cell-house,now empty of the dangerous criminals who were once housed there,still carries remnants of the dark events to which these walls once bore witness.This is a journey into a dim part of the American past, and few walk away fully comprehending.The clichd expression, if these walls could talk, is taken to a deeper level when probing the rigid silence of Alcatraz.

Brief history

The island received its name in 1775 when Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala charted the San Francisco Bay, and named this tiny speck of land La Isla de los Alcatraes[footnoteRef:4]. The small uninhabited island had little to offer, with its swift currents, minimal vegetation,and barren ground. [4: Alcatraz Island was originally named La Isla de los Alcatraces, or island of the pelicans]

Seventy-two years later in 1847, the U.S. Army took notice of The Rock and of its strategic value as a military fortification. Topographical engineers began conducting geological surveys,and by 1853, U.S. Army Engineers had started constructing a military fortress on the island, along with the Pacific Coasts first operating lighthouse. In 1848, the discovery of gold along the American River in California brought shiploads of miners from around the world to the West Coast in search of the precious metal. As word spread around the globe of abundant wealth in California, the United States Government would invoke security measures to protect its land and mineral resources from seizure by other countries.After several years of laborious construction and various armament expansions, Alcatraz was established as the United States western symbol of military strength. The new military fortress featured long-range iron cannons and four massive 36,000-pounds, 15-inch Rodman guns, which were capable of sinking mammoth hostile ships three miles away. The guns of Alcatraz could fire 6,949 pounds of iron shot in one barrage. Though the fortress would eventually fire only 400-pound canon round at an unidentified ship, and miss its target, the island had lived up to its self-made reputation as an icon of U.S. military power. But within a few decades, the islands role as a military fortress would start to fade away and its defenses would become obsolete by the standars of more modern weaponry.Because of its natural isolation, surrounded by freezing water and hazardous currents, Alcatraz would soon be considered by the U.S. Army as an ideal location for holding captives. In 1861 the island began receiving Civil War prisoners, and in 1898 the Spanish-American war would bring the prison population from a mere twenty-six to over four hundred and fifty. Then, in 1906, following the catastrophic San Francisco earthquake, hundreds of civilian prisoners were transferred to the island for safe confinement. By 1912 a large cell-house had been constructed on the islands central crest, and by the late 1920s, the three-storey structure was nearly at full capacity.Alcatraz was the Armys first long-term prison, and it was already beginning to build its reputation as a tough detention facility by exposing inmates to hars confinement conditions and ironhanded discipline. The prisoners were separated into three classes[footnoteRef:5]. Each class held distinct levels of privilege. For example, prisoners in the third class were not allowed to have reading material from the library or visits and letters from relatives, and a strict rule of silence was rigidly enforced at all times. Prisoners who violated these rules faced strict disciplinary measures. In addition to losing their earned class rankings, violators were assigned punishments that included but were not limited to working on hard labor details, wearing a twelve-pound ball and ankle chain, and enduring solitary lock-downs with a severely restricted bread and water diet. [5: Classes based on their conduct and on the crimes they had commited]

The average age for law-offending soldiers was twenty-four years, and most of the prisoners were serving short-term sentences for desertion or lesser crimes. However, it wasnt uncommon to find soldiers serving longer sentences for the more serious crimes of insubordination, assault, larceny and murder. One interesting element of the military order was that prisoners cells were used only for sleeping, unless the inhabitant was in lock-down status. All prisoners were prohibited from visiting their cells during the day. Inmates with first or second class rankings were allowed to go everywhere on the prison grounds, except for the guards quarters on the upper levels.Despite the stringent rules and harsh standards for hardened criminals, Alcatraz primarily functioned in a minimum-security capacity. The types of work assignments given to inmates varied depending on the prisoners, their classification, and how responsible they were.Many inmates worked as general servants who cooked, cleaned, and attended to household chores for island families. In many cases, select prisoners were entrusted to care for the children of staff members. Alcatraz was also home to several Chinese families, who were employed as servants, and made up the largest segment of the islands civilian population. The lack of a strict focus on prison security favored some inmates who hoped to make a break to freedom. But in spite of their best efforts, most escapes never made it to the mainland, and usually turned back to be rescued from the freezing waters. Those who were not missed and failed to turn back eventually would tire and drown.The public disliked having an Army prison as a sterile focal point in the middle of the beautiful San Francisco Bay, so the Military made arrangements to have soil from Angel Island brought over, and it was spread thoughout the acreage of Alcatraz. Several prisoners were trained as able gardeners, and they planted numerous varieties of flowers and decorative plants to give the island a more pleasing appearance from the mainland. The California Spring and Wild Flower Association contributed top-grade seeding, ranging from rose bushes to lilies. The island residents enjoyed tending their gardens, and it was said tha the landscape work assignments were among those most favored by the prisoners.Over the decades the prisons routine became increasingly relaxed and recreational activities grew more prevalent. In the late 1920s prisoners were permitted to build a baseball field, and were even allowed wearing their own baseball uniforms. On Friday nights the Army hosted Alcatraz Fights that featured boxing matches between inmates selected from the Disciplinary Barracks population. These fights were quite popular, and often drew visitors from the mainland who had managed to finagle an invitation.Due to rising operational costs, the Military decided to close the prison in 1934, and ownership shifted to the Department of Justice. Coincidentally, the Great Depression[footnoteRef:6] became the root of a severe crime surge during the late 20s and 30s, which ushered in a new era of organized crime. The gangster era was in full swing, and the nation bore witness to horrific violence, brought on by the combined forces of Prohibition and desperate need. The American people watched in fear as influential mobsters and sharply dressed public enemies exerted heavy influence on metropolitan cities and their authorities. Law enforcement agencies were often ill-equipped to deal with the onslaught, and would frequently cowe before better-armed gangs in shoot-outs and public slayings. [6: A dramatic, worldwide economic downturn beginning in some countries as early as 1928]

A public cry went out to take back Americas heartland, and so the die was cast for the birth of a unique detention facility one so forbidding that it would eventually be nicknamed Uncle Sams Devils Island[footnoteRef:7]. [7: The original nickname was Uncle Sams Devils Island, because of its obvious similarity to The Devils Island, which is an island off the coast of French Guiana, which was known for its maximum security prison]

Alcatraz was the ideal solution to the problem. It could serve the dual purpose of incarcerating public enemies while standing as a visible icon, a warning to this new and ruthless brand of criminal. Sanfor Bates, the head of the Federal Prisons, and Attorney General Homer Cummings led the project, and they kept a hand in the finely detailed design concepts. One of the nations foremost security experts, Robert Burge, was commissioned to help design a prison that was escape-proof as well as outwardly forbidding. The original cellblock, built in 1909, would undergo extensive upgrades and renovations.In April 1934 work was begun to give the military prison a new face and a new identity. The soft squared bars were replaced with modernized tool-proof substitues. Electricity was routed into each cell, and all of the utility tunnels were cemented to completely remove the possibility that a prisoner could enter or hide in them. Tool-proof iron window coverings would shield all areas that could be accessed by inmates. Special Gun Galleries would transverse the cellblock perimeters, allowing guards to carry weapons while protected behind iron rod barriers. These secure Galleries, which were elevated and out of reach of the prisoners, would be the control center for all keys, and would allow the guards the unique ability to oversee all inmate activities.Special teargas canisters were permanently installed in the ceiling of the Dining Hall, and they could be remotely activated from both the Gun Gallery and the outside observation points. Guard towers were strategically positioned around the perimeter, and new technology allowed the use of electromagnetic metal detectors, which were positioned outside of the Dining Hall and on the Prison Industries access paths. The cell-house contained a total of nearly 600 cells, with no one cell adjoining any perimeter wall. If an inmate managed to tunnel his way through the cell wall, he would still need to find a way to escape from the cell-house itself. The inmates would only be assigned to B, C, and D blocks, since the primary prison population would not exceed 300 inmates. The implementation of these new measures, combined with the natural isolating barrier created by the icy Bay waters, meant that the prison was nearly ready to receive the nations most incorrigible criminals.

Life in prison

All privileges would be limited, and no single inmate, regardless of his public stature, would be given special rights or freedoms. Inmates arriving at Alcatraz were driven in a small transfer van to the top of the hill. They were processed in the basement area, and were then provided with all of their basic things and allowed a brief shower.Each prisoner would be assigned their own cell, and only the basic minimum life necessities would be given, such as food, water, clothing, and medical and dental care, no other things were given to them. The prisoners contact with the outside world was completely restricted during their term in Alcatraz. They would be marched from one location to another, always in a unified formation in the exact same places. The prison routine was rigid and unrelenting, day after day, year after year. As quickly as a given privilege could be earned for good behavior, it could be taken away for the slightest infraction of the rules. That enforced the prisoners not only to earn the privileges, but to try to preserve them for the rest of their term.Wardens from the various Federal penitentiaries were interviewed, and they were permitted to send their most incorrigible into secure confinement on The Rock. The prison population at Alcatraz was made up of inmates who had histories of unmanageable behavior or escape attempts, and high-profile inmates who had been receiving special privileges because of their public status assignments. The methodical cycle of the prison routine was unforgiving. It never changed through the years, and was very precise and reliable. The main corridor of the cell house was named Broadway[footnoteRef:8] by the inmates, and the cells along this passageway were considered the least desirable in the prison. The cells on the bottom tier were colder because they stood against the long slick run of cement, and they were also the least private, as inmates, guards, and other prison personnel frequented this corridor. The newer were generally assigned to the second tier of B Block, and were placed in quarantine status for the first three months of their term on The Rock. [8: The oldest north-south main thoroughfare in the New York City, dating to the first New Amsterdam settlement ]

There was a ratio of one guard to every three prisoners on Alcatraz, as compared with other prisons, in which the ratio exceeded one guard to every twelve inmates, a measure which was meant to prevent the prisoners from trying to escape. With the Gun Galleries at each end of the cell blocks, placed under lock to keep them away from prisoners, and the frequent inmate counts[footnoteRef:9], the guards were able to keep extremely close track of each and every inmate in Alcatraz. Because of the small total number of prisoners at Alcatraz, all of the guards usually knew each inmate by their name. [9: There were twelve counts per day]

In the early years at Alcatraz, Warden Johnston[footnoteRef:10] maintained a silence policy[footnoteRef:11] that many inmates considered to be their most unbearable punishment. Many complaints were posted for this matter. There were reports that several inmates were being driven insane by the severe rule of silence on Alcatraz. The silence policy was later relaxed, but this was one of only a few policy changes that occurred over the prisons history. [10: He led the prison between 1933 to 1948] [11: Was a strict rule which forbidden prisoners to engage themselves in any sort of conversation]

One of the famous cell of Alcatraz Prison was the single Strip Cell, also known as the Oriental, was a dark steel covered cell with no toilet or sink. There was only a hole in the floor for the inhabitant to relieve himself, and even the ability to flush the contents was controlled by a guard. Inmates were placed in the cell naked, and were put on severely restricted diets. The cell had a standard set of bars with an expanded opening through which to pass food, and a solid steel outer door that remained closed, leaving the inmate in total darkness. Inmates were usually subjected to this degree of punishment for periods of only one to two days. The cell was cold, and the sleeping mattress was only allowed during the night, and was taken away during the daylight hours. This was considered the most invasive type of punishment for severe violations and misconduct, and it was genuinely feared by all the inmates.

Famous Figures

During its 29 years of activity, the penitentiary did not lack the visit of some famous criminal figures at that time, which not only had left a definite mark in the history of Alcatraz Prison, but also were seen as a source of inspiration for various documentaries and film directors.Robert Stroud[footnoteRef:12], who was better known to the public as the Birdman of Alcatraz, was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942. He spent the next seventeen years on the Rock six years in segregation in D Block, and eleven years in the prison hospital. In 1959 he was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield. [12: Known as the Birdman of Alcatraz, was a prisoner in Alcatraz who supposedly found solace from segregation by raising and seeling birds]

George Machine Gun Kelly arrived on September 4, 1934. At Alcatraz, Kelly was constantly boasting about several robberies and murders that he had never committed. Although this was said to be an apparent point of frustration for several fellow prisoners, Warden Johnson considered him a model inmate. Kelly was returned to Leavenworth in 1951.James Whitey Bulger[footnoteRef:13] spent 3 years on Alcatraz (1959-1962) while serving a sentence for bank robbery. While there, he became close to Clarence Carnes, also known as the Choctaw Kid. [13: A wanted fugitive and alleged leader. On August 19, 1999 Bulger became the 458th Ten Most Wanted fugitive listed by the FBI]

When Al Capone arrived on Alcatraz in 1934, prison officials made it clear that he would not be receiving any preferential treatment. While serving his time in Atlanta, Capone, a master manipulator, had continued running his rackets from behind bars by buying off guards. Big Al generated incredible media attention while on Alcatraz though he served just four and a half years of his sentence there before developing symptoms of syphilis and being transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island in Los Angeles.Al Capone was in the hole three times during his 4 -year stay at Alcatraz. The first years of Alcatraz were known as the silent years and during this period, the rules stated that no prisoners were allowed to speak to one another, sing, hum or whistle. Talking was forbidden in the cells, in the mess hall and even in the showers. The inmates were allowed to talk for three minutes during the morning and afternoon recreation yard periods and for two hours on weekends. Many of the prisoners who served time in Alcatraz ended up insane. Capone may have been one of them for time here was not easy on the ex-gangland boss. On one occasion, he got into a fight with another inmate in the recreation yard and was placed in isolation for eight days. Another time, while working in the prison basement, an inmate standing in line for a haircut exchanged words with Capone and then stabbed him with a pair of scissors. Capone was sent to the prison hospital but was released a few days later with a minor wound.Occasionally, guards reported that he would refuse to leave his cell to go to the mess hall and eat. They would often find him crouched down in the corner of his cell like an animal. On other occasions, he would mumble to himself or babble in baby talk or simply sit on his bed and strum little tunes on his banjo[footnoteRef:14]. Years later, another inmate recalled that Capone would sometimes stay in his cell and make his bunk over and over again. [14: The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States]

After more than three years on the Rock, Capone was on the edge of total insanity. He spent the last year of his sentence in the hospital ward, undergoing treatment for an advanced case of syphilis. Most of the time he spent in the ward, he spent playing his banjo. His last day on Alcatraz was January 6, 1939. He was then transferred to the new Federal prison at Terminal Island near Los Angeles. When he was paroled, he became a recluse at his Palm Island, Florida estate. He died, broken and insane, in 1947.

Escape attempts

Although named The Rock, for its severe and strict measures of severe and strict measures of security, the prison prisoners as having ever successfully escaped. 36 prisoners were involved in 14 attempts, two men trying twice, seven were shot and killed, two drowned, five were unaccounted for, and the rest were recaptured. Two prisoners made it off the island but wre returned, one in 1945 and one in 1962. The most violent attempt was the so-called Battle of Alcatraz in 1946, in which three prisoners and two guards were killed and two prisoners were later executed at San Quentin for their participation in the battle.If there was ever an inmate who was destined to escape from Alcatraz, it was Frank Lee Morris. In the movie entitled Escape from Alcatraz starring actor Clint Eastwood[footnoteRef:15], Morris was accurately portrayed as the keen and brilliant mastermind of one of the most famous prison escaped in history. The escape plan took nearly seven months to design, and it wold necessitate the fabrication of clever decoys and water survival gear. Frank Lee Morris had spent a lifetime navigating the prison system before his arrival on Alcatraz. From his infant years until his teens, Morris was shuffled from one foster home to another, and he was convicted of his first crime at the youthful age of only thirteen. [15: An Academy Award-winning American film director, actor, producer, and composer. He has won Academy Awards five times twice each as Best Director and as producer of the Best Picture.]

By the hime he reached his later teens, Morris criminal record would include a multitude of crimes ranging from narcotics possession to armed robbery, and he had become a professional inhabitant of the correctional system. He spent his formative years in a boys training school, and the graduated to a series of ever larger penitentiaries. Morris was credited by prison officials as possessing superior intelligence, and he earned his ticket to Alcatraz by building an impressive resume of escapes. In 1960, Federal Officials decided that his pattern of escape attempts, termed as shotgun freedom (although his escapes had never involved the use of a shotgun), would end at The Rock. On January 20, 1960, Morris disembarked from the prison launch and became inmate #AZ1441.Franks accomplices in the Great Escape were equally well acquainted with the dark world of organized crime. Brothers John and Clarence Anglin were also serving sentences at Alcatraz for bank robbery, having been convicted along with their brother Alfred. All three had been incarcerated at the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta when they first became acquaintes with Morris, and John and Clarence were eventually sent to Alcatraz following a sequence of attempted escapes.Alcatraz inmate Allan West, who occupied an adjacent cell, was also brought in on the scheme. He was serving his second term on The Rock and carried a reputation as an arrogant criminal, and he knew John Anglin from the State Penitentiary in Florida. The escape plan started to take shape in December of 1961, beginning with a collection of several old saw blades that West allegedly found in one of the utility corridors while cleaning. In later interviews, West would take credit for masterminding the clever escape.The plan was extremely complex and involved the design and fabrication of ingenious lifelike dummies, water rafts, and life preservers, fashioned from over fifty rain coats that had been acquired from other inamtes some donated and some stolen. They would also require a variety of crudely made tools to dig with, and to construct the accessories necessary for the escape. By May of 1962, Morris and the Anglins had already dug through the cells six-by-nine-inch vent holes, and had started work on the vent on top of the cellblock.Behind the prisoners cells in Cell Block B (where the escapees were interned) was an unguarded 3-foot (0.91 m) wide utility corridor. The prisoners chiseled away the moisture-damaged concrete from around an air vent leading to this corridos, using tools such as a metal spoon soldered with silver from a dime and an electric drill improvised from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor. The noise was disguised by accordions played during music hour, and their progress was concealed by false walls which, in the dark recesses of the cells, fooled the guards.The escape route then led up through a fan vent; the fan and motor had been removed and replaced with a steel grilles, leaving a shaft large enough for a prisoner to climb through. Stealing a carborundum cord from the prison workshop, the prisoners had removed the rivets from the grille and substituted dummy rivets made of soap. The escapees also stole several raincoats to use as a raft for the trip to the mainland. Leaving papier-mache[footnoteRef:16] dummies in their cells with paint brush bristles as hair, they escaped. The prisoners are estimated to have entered San Francisco Bay at 10 p.m. [16: A hard strong substance suitable for painting on, made of paper pulp or layers of paper mixed with paste, size, etc, and molded when moist]

In 2003, Jamie Hyndman and Adam Savage, the co-hosts of the San Francisco-based Discovery Channel television series Myth Busters, sought to prove whether the escapees could have survived. Using similar materials to those used in 1962, they constructed an inflatable raft from 30 rubber raincoats and made plywood paddles. Hyndman and Savage selected a date when the tide direction and rate matched that of the escape attempt, and with another crew member, Will Abbot, standing in for the third prisoner, they were able to paddle with the outgoing tide to the Marin Headlands, near the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. The trip took 40 minutes and Hyndman and Savage agreed that the escape could gave succeeded.

Native American occupation

In 1969, a group of Native Americans from many different tribes, calling themselves Native Americans of Different Tribes (many individual Native Americans voluntarily relocated to the Bay Area[footnoteRef:17] under the Federal Indian Reorganization Act of 1934), occupied the island, and proposed an education center, ecology center and cultural center. According to the occupants, the 1868 Fort Laramie treaty between the U.S. and the Sioux conceded all retired, abandoned or out-of-use federal land to the Native people from whom it was acquired. During the occupation, several buildings were damaged or destroyed by fires, including the recreation hall, the Coast Guard quarter and the Wardens home. It is not known who started the fires if anyone at all. A number of other buildings (mostly apartments) were destroyed by the US Government after the occupation had ended. After 18 months of occupation, the government forced the occupiers off. But the end of the Termination policy and the new policy of self-determination were established in 1970, in part as a result of the publicity and awareness created by the occupation. Graffiti from the period of Native American occupation is still visible at many locations on the island. [17: The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a geographically and ethnically diverse metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo bays in Northern California]

Landmarking and Development

The entire Alcatraz Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and was further declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.In 1993, the National Park Service published a plan entitled Alcatraz Development Concept and Environmental Assessment. This plan, approved in 1980, doubled the amount of Alcatraz accessible to the public to enable visitors to enjoy its scenery and bird, marine, and animal life, such as the California slender salamander.Today American Indian groups, the International Indian Treaty Council, for example, hold ceremonies on the island. The most notable of these are on Columbus Day and Thanksgiving Day when they hold a Sunrise Gathering.In 2006, the National Park Service[footnoteRef:18] awarded the ferry contract to Hornblower Yachts ferry operator Alcatraz Cruises. Because Hornblower does not emply union labor, there have been protests for several months and several with nearly 1,000 participants. [18: (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations]

During the day, the old prison is a bustling place, filled with tour guides and visitors, but at night, the building is filled with the inexplicable. Many believe the the energy of those who came to serve time on the Rock still remains, that Alcatraz is an immense haunted house, a place where strang things cand and do happen today.Every visitor who arrives by boat on Alcatraz follows the same path once walked by the criminals who came to do time on the Rock. The tourists who come here pass through the wardens office and the visiting room and eventually enter the cell house. After passing the double steel doors, a visitor can see that just past C Block. If they look opposite the visiting room, they will find a metal door that looks as though it was once welded shut. Although the tour guides dont usually mention it, behind that door if the utility corridor where Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard were killed by grenades and bullets in 1946.One Park Service employee stated that she had been working one rainy afternoon when the sparse number of tourists was not enough to keep all of the guides busy. She went for a walk in front of A Block and was just past the door that led down to the dungeons when she heard a loud scream from the bottom of the stairs. She ran away without lookin to see if anyone was down there. When asked why she didnt report the incident, she replied I didnt dare mention it because the day before, everyone was ridiculing another worker who reported hearing mens voices coming from the hospital ward and when he checked the ward, it was empty.Several of the guides and rangers have also expressed a strangeness about one of the hole cells 14D[footnoteRef:19]. Theres a feeling of sudden intensity that comes from spending more than a few minutes around that cell, one of them said. Another guide also spoke up about that particular cell. That cell, 14D, is always cold. Its even colder than the other three dark cells. Sometimes it gets warm out here so hot that you have to take your jacket off. The temperature inside the cell house can be in the 70s, yet 4D is still cold, so cold that you need a jacket if you spend any time in it. [19: Cell number 14 from D Block]

Oddly, the tour guides were not the only ones to have strange experiences in that particular cell. A number of former guards from the prisons also spoke of some pretty terrifying incidents that took place near the holes and in particular, Cell 14D. According to sources, a number of guards who served between 1946 and 1963 experienced strange happenings on Alcatraz. From the grounds of the prison to the caverns beneath the buildings, there were often talking of people sobbing and moaning, inexplicable smells, cold spots and spectral apparitions. Even guests and families who lived on the island claimed to occasionally see the ghostly forms of prisoners and even phantom soldiers. Phantom gunshots were known to send seasoned guards cringing on the ground in the belief that the prisoners had escaped and had obtained weapons. There was never an explanation. A deserted laundry room would sometimes fill with the smell of smoke, even though nothing was burning. The guards would be sent running from the room, only to return later and find that the air was clear.As the years have passed, ghost hunters, authors, crime buffs and curiosity-seekers have visited the island and many of them have left with feelings of strangeness. Perhaps those who experience the ghostly side of Alcatraz most often are the national park service employees who sometimes spend many hours here alone. For the most part, the rangers claim to not believe in the supernatural but occasionally, one of them will admit that weird things happen here that they cannot explain.According to one park ranger, he was in one of the cell houses one morning, near the shower room, and heard the distinctive sound of banjo music coming from the room. He could not explain it but many who know some of the hidden history of Alcatraz can. In hist last days at the prison, Al Capone often hide in the shower room with his banjo. Rather than rick going out into the prison yard, where he feared for his life thanks to his deteriorating mental state, Capone received permission to stay inside and practice with his instrument.And perhaps he sits there still, this lonesome and broken spirit, still plucking at the strings of a spectral banjo that vanished decades ago. For on occasion, tour guides and rangers, who walk the corridors of the prison alone, still claim to hear and an occasional tune echoing through the abandoned building. Is it Al Capone? Or could it be merely another of the countless ghosts who continues to haunt this place, year after year?

Questions and Answers

How big was the average cell?Each cell in B & C Block was 5 feet by 9 feet[footnoteRef:20]. Cells at Alcatraz had a small sink with cold running water, small sleeping cot, and a toilet. Most men could extend their arms and touch each wall within their cell. The cells in D Block (segregation) were more spacious, but still the least popular. [20: 1 feet=0.304 meters]

How many cells were there?There were 336 cells in B & C Block. NPS states that there were originally 348, but 12 were removed when stairways were installed at the end of each cellblock. There were 36 segregation cells, and 6 solitary confinement cells ( actually known as confinement chambers by many inmates) in D Block. Two cells on the end of C Block were used as restrooms for the guard staff. The cell in A Block were only used a few times for (rare) short term lock-up periods when an imate did not require full solitary confinement seclusion, but needed to be fully isolated from other inmates. Records indicate that Sam Shockley and Miran Thompson were both imprisoned in A Block ( separated by multiple cell lengths) following the 1946 Riots and while standing trial for the deaths of two Alcatraz Guards from the 1946 Escape Attempt. Otherwise, A Block was used solely for materials storage.

Were Alcatraz inmates allowed visitors?Yes. Inmates were granted one visit per month and each visitation had to be approved directly by the Warden. No physical contact was allowed and rules dictated that inmates were not allowed to discuss current events, or any matters concerning prison life. Inmates talked with visitors via intercom and a correctional officer monitored the conversations during each the majority of the time ( Phil Bergen stated that they didnt always have time to monitor the conversations). Inappropriate conduct during visits would result in a loss of visiting and/or other privileges.Where did the families of the guard staff live?At any given time, there were about 300 civilians living on Alcatraz that included both women and children. The primary living areas for families were Building #64, three apartment buildings, one large duplex, and four large wooden houses for senior officers. Families enjoyed their own bowling alley, small convenience store, and soda fountain shop for the younger island residents. Families did most of their shopping on the mainland since the prison boat made twelve scheduled runs to the Van Ness Street Pier each day. The Warden lived in a large house adjacent to the cell house and actually used inmates with good conduct records for cleaning and cooking.

Do the inmates who were imprisoned at Alcatraz have anything good to say about the prison?Actually, yes. During an interview with Inmate Willie Radkay[footnoteRef:21] ( he shared a cell next to Machine Gun Kelly), he indicated that having your own cell was a great advantage over other federal prisons. By having your own cell, it reduced the chances of being sexually violated and the privacy aspect was also a cherished benefit. He also stated that the staff ( the majority of the time) treated the inmates respectfully though they rarely spoke to one another. Furthermore, the food was the best within the entire prison system and considered his time at Alcatraz to be better than at any other penitentiary. [21: Known as one of the most notorious armed robbers in Kansas City history]

What did inmates dislike most about Alcatraz?The common them Ive heard by most inmates ( primarily in ther earlier years) was the rule of silence. In the earlier years of Alcatraz, inmates were not allowed to talk to one another except during meals and reacreation periods. Some inmates commonly emptied out the water from their toilets and created a primitive communications system through the sewage piping. This rule was considered harsh and inmates were disciplined for even minor violations of this code. Inmates also state that the island was always cold. Most agree that cells on their higher tiers with window views were more popular since they tended to be wamer than the ground level cells.

How many prisoners were executed at Alcatraz?None, Alcatraz had no facilities for Capital Punishment and this process was usually left to State institutions. For Alcatraz, inmates who had been served a death sentence were transferred to San Quentin State Penitentiary for execution in the Gas Chamber[footnoteRef:22]. [22: An apparatus for killing, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiate gas is introduced]

How many people died while at Alcatraz?There were eight people murdered by inmates on Alcatraz. Five men committed suicide, and fifteen died from natural illnesses. The Island also boasted its own morgue but no autopsies were performed there. All deceased inmates were brought back to the mainland and released to the San Francisco County Coroner.

How many prisoners did Alcatraz have at any give time?The highest number ever recorded was 302, and the lowest number 222. The average number of inmates during the 29 years of service was around 260. There were approximately 1545 total men imprisoned there and the NPS indicated that while 1,576 numbers were issued, over thirty convicts were returned to Alcatraz with different numbers issued.

What was the average stay?On average, the time of residence was about eight years. Men were never directly sentenced to Alcatraz and usually had to earn their way. There were only two men ever paroled directly from Alcatraz to the free world.

How many people escaped?The NPS records indicate that 36 prisoners were involved in various attempts. Two inmates actually successfully made it off the island but were quickly captured. Seven inmates were shot and killed trying to escape. Two drowned and 5 inmates have been unaccounted for presumed drowned. The most famous escape was that of Frank Morris and the Anglin Brothers. All three were successful in swimming off Alcatraz, but all three are believed to have drowned.

Why did Alcatraz close?Primarily because of rising costs and deteriorating facilities. Operationally, Alcatraz was the most expensive prison of any state or federal institution. It was determined that other institutions could serve the same purpose for less cost.

How many birds did Robert Stroud keep while on Alcatraz?None Stroud had bred and studied birds at the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Stroud was imprisoned at Alcatraz from 1942 until 1959. It was determined that Stroud was abusing his research privileges and sent to Alcatraz. Stroud was widely disliked by many fellow inmates and correctional officers.

Was it true that inmates were locked in dungeons for punishment?The cell house had been built on top of a 19th century fortress[footnoteRef:23]. Below A Block was a set of cells that were known as the Spanish Dungeon. These cells had been used primarily during the military prison era. In the late 1930s it is alleged that the dungeon cells were occasionally used for unmanageable inmates. Many correctional officers have agreed they had heard, or were aware that some extremely unmanageable inmates were handcuffed to bars in the dungeons for short periods of time. A Block was used frequently as the segregation unit before D Block had undergone the transformation into a lock-down unit. [23: Fortress that was used by the military to protect the Bay]

Final statement

Bibliography

www.wikipedia.org www.prairieghosts.com www.history.com www.alcatrazhistory.com www.essortment.com

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