Doing Time in Alcatraz
San Francisco Prison Housed America's Toughest Criminals
Alcatraz, otherwise known as "The Rock" was virtually inescapable.
The inmates locked up in one of the world's most feared prisons had only five basic rights. They were food, clothing, a shower once a week, a private cell, medical care and nothing else. Only two things were certain if you were incarcerated in Alcatraz. First, you would receive all of the five things listed above. And second, it would be VERY unlikely that you could escape.
Alcatraz has been closed since 1963, but millions of tourists visit the island near San Francisco every year wondering how on earth anybody could have survived within its walls. The tough rules that prisoners had to follow were numerous. No talking was allowed, and many inmates lost their sanity because of this strict policy. Inmates were not permitted to read newspapers or listen to radios, and incoming/outgoing mail was thoroughly searched.
If anybody misbehaved they would be taken to "the hole" where they would be reduced to a bread and water diet. For more severe infractions, an inmate would be sent to the "strip cell" where he was stripped of all clothing and kept in total darkness for one to two days.
The horribly violent crime wave of the late 1920s and the first few years of the Great Depression, which was largely the result of Prohibition, was out of control in many U.S. cities like Chicago and New York. U.S. Attorney General Homer Cummings and the head of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover wanted to create the most sophisticated, escape proof prison in the United States. In doing so they sent a message loud and clear to the powerful criminals who glossed the front page of U.S. newspapers, including men like Al Capone. The message was Alcatraz was going to strip men like Capone of their power and bust the wave of lawlessness that resulted from their illegal activities.
It worked. Alcatraz was the perfect choice for dangerous offenders. Surrounded by frigid water and strong currents, it was extremely difficult to escape without freezing to death or drowning. The prison had some new security measures installed like watchtowers and electronically controlled gates and doors, so it was hard for any prisoner to slip away without the guards noticing.
Alcatraz opened in 1934 and Al Capone was sent there that same year. He quickly realized all his power and wealth on the outside afforded him no special treatment in prison. James A. Johnston, the warden of Alcatraz ignored all of Capone's requests for special privileges. At one point Capone said, "It looks like Alcatraz has got me licked."
He wasn't wrong. The endless, mundane routines inside Alcatraz wore him down until he was babbling incoherently and in 1939 he was transferred to a prison in Los Angeles. Other infamous criminals who called Alcatraz home were:
- Robert Stroud, a convicted murderer who spent 17 years of his life on "The Rock." He was also called the Birdman of Alcatraz because he spent years studying birds and their diseases.
- Doc Barker, the last member of the Ma Barker Gang.
- George "Machine Gun" Kelly.
In 1962 Frank Morris and Clarence and John Anglin managed to escape from their cells by creating humanlike dummies that fooled the guards when they did a head count. They crawled through the air vents and then through the utility shafts up to the roof. They used inflatable rafts to travel across the bay, but whether or not they survived the treacherous waters is unknown.
Apart from these three men there were no successful escapes from the island. In 1963 the prison was deemed too expensive to operate effectively and was closed forever.
Picture yourself in a 4x8 foot cell with limited access to books, no television or newspapers, or any information about what's going on outside. Just one week would have seemed like a year. Tourists feel uneasy after being in one of those tiny cells for just a few seconds. Now imagine what it was like to be locked up for months, even years like this. Knowing that a big city, and freedom, was just a few miles away was the worst part of being in Alcatraz. It was torture.
Some U.S. prisons treat their inmates quite leniently today. They are allowed to visit the library as much as they want and are given the chance to improve their education. In other words, they are comfortable because all of their needs are being met.
They don't make prisons like they used to.
