by ezzat amier
The federal prison on Alcatraz Island in the chilly waters of
California’s San Francisco Bay housed some of America’s most difficult and
dangerous felons during its years of operation from 1934 to 1963. Among those
who served time at the maximum-security facility were the notorious gangster Al
“Scarface” Capone (1899-1947) and murderer Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud
(1890-1963). No inmate ever successfully escaped The Rock, as the prison was
nicknamed, although more than a dozen known attempts were made over the years.
After the prison was shut down due to high operating costs, the island was
occupied for almost two years, starting in 1969, by a group of Native-American
activists. Today, historic Alcatraz Island, which was also the site of a U.S.
military prison from the late 1850s to 1933, is a popular tourist destination.
EARLY YEARS AS A
MILITARY PRISON
In
1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala (1745-97) mapped and named rugged
Alcatraz Island, christening it La Isla de los Alcatraces, or Island of the
Pelicans, due to its large population of sea birds. Seventy-five years later,
in 1850, President Millard Fillmore (1800-74)
signed an order reserving the island for military use. During the 1850s, a
fortress was constructed on Alcatraz and some 100 cannons were installed around
the island to protect San
Francisco Bay. Also during this time, Alcatraz became home to
the West Coast’s first operational lighthouse.
By the late 1850s, the U.S. Army had begun holding
military prisoners at Alcatraz. Isolated from the mainland by the cold, strong
waters of San Francisco Bay, the island was deemed an ideal location for a
prison. It was assumed no Alcatraz inmate could attempt to escape by swimming
and survive.
During its years as a military prison, the inmates at
Alcatraz included Confederate sympathizers and citizens accused of treason
during the American Civil War (1861-65). Alcatraz also
housed a number of “rebellious” American Indians, including 19 Hopis from the Arizona Territory
who were sent to the prison in 1895 following land disagreements with the
federal government. The inmate population at Alcatraz continued to rise during
the Spanish-American War (1898).
During the early 20th century, inmate labor fueled the
construction of a new cellhouse (the 600-cell structure still stands today) on
Alcatraz, along with a hospital, mess hall and other prison buildings.
According to the National Park Service, when this new complex was finished in
1912 it was the world’s largest reinforced concrete building.
DOING TIME AS A FEDERAL PRISON: 1934-63
In 1933, the Army relinquished Alcatraz to the U.S.
Justice Department, which wanted a federal prison that could house a criminal
population too difficult or dangerous to be handled by other U.S.
penitentiaries. Following construction to make the existing complex at Alcatraz
more secure, the maximum-security facility officially opened on July 1, 1934.
The first warden, James A. Johnston (1874-1954), hired approximately one guard
for every three prisoners. Each prisoner had his own cell.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) viewed Alcatraz as
“the prison system’s prison,” a place where the most disruptive inmates could
be sent to live under sparse conditions with few privileges in order to learn
how to follow rules (at which point, they could be transferred to other federal
prisons to complete their sentences). According to the BOP, Alcatraz typically
held some 260 to 275 prisoners, which represented less than 1 percent of the
entire federal inmate population.
FAMOUS INMATES
Among those who did time at The Rock was the notorious
Prohibition-era gangster Al “Scarface” Capone, who spent four-and-a-half years
there during the 1930s. His arrival on the island generated headlines across
America. Capone was sent to Alcatraz because his incarceration in Atlanta, Georgia, had allowed him to remain in contact with
the outside world and continue to run his criminal operation in Chicago. He
was also known to corrupt prison officers. All of that ended when he was sent
to Alcatraz. According to the biography “Capone” by John Kobler, Capone once
told the warden, “It looks like Alcatraz has got me licked.”
Other famous (or infamous) Alcatraz inmates included
George “Machine Gun” Kelly (1895-1954), who spent 17 years there on a
kidnapping conviction. Gangster Alvin “Creepy Karpis” Karpowicz (1907-79),
listed as “Public Enemy No. 1″ by the FBI in the 1930s, spent over 25 years
behind bars at Alcatraz, reportedly more time than any other prisoner. Murderer
Robert Stroud, also known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz,” was transferred there
after three decades at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Stroud arrived on the island in 1942 and
served 17 years there; however, despite his nickname, he was not permitted to
keep birds at Alcatraz as he had while locked up at Leavenworth.
ESCAPE ATTEMPTS FROM ALCATRAZ
Over the years, there were 14 known attempts to escape
from Alcatraz, involving 36 inmates. The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that
of these would-be escapees, 23 were captured, six were shot and killed during
their attempted getaways, two drowned and five went missing and were presumed
drowned.
The most famous escape attempt resulted in a battle, from
May 2 to May 4, 1946, in which six prisoners overpowered cellhouse officers and
were able to gain access to weapons, but not the keys needed to leave the
prison. In the ensuing battle, the prisoners killed two correctional officers
and injured 18 others. The U.S. Marines were called in, and the battle ended
with the deaths of three of the rogue inmates and the trial of the three
others, two of whom received the death penalty for their actions.
THE PRISON CLOSES ITS DOORS: 1963
The federal penitentiary at Alcatraz was shut down in
1963 because its operating expenses were much higher than those of other
federal facilities at the time. (The prison’s island location meant all food
and supplies had to be shipped in, at great expense.) Furthermore, the isolated
island buildings were beginning to crumble due to exposure to the salty sea
air. During nearly three decades of operation, Alcatraz housed a total of 1,576
men.
In 1969, a group of Native Americans led by Mohawk
activist Richard Oakes (1942-72) arrived on Alcatraz Island and claimed the
land on behalf of “Indians of All Tribes.” The activists hoped to establish a
university and a museum on the island. Oakes left Alcatraz following the death
there of his stepdaughter in 1970, and the remaining occupiers, whose ranks had
become increasingly contentious and divided, were removed by order of President Richard M. Nixon (1913-94) in 1971. The
island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972 and was
opened to the public a year later. Today, some 1 million tourists visit
Alcatraz each year.
