Alcatraz inmates had to earn their way out of their cells through good behavior. Everything other than food, medical care, shelter, clothes, legal representation, letters to family members, and religious services was considered a privilege.
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Daily life on Alcatraz was harsh, and prisoners were given only four rights: medical attention, shelter, food and clothing; recreational activities and family visits had to be earned through hard work.
Punishment at Alcatraz was extreme. At the dungeon, prisoners were chained up standing in total darkness, often with no food and regular beatings. These punishments often lasted for as long as 14 days and by 1942, the dungeon was found to be unnecessarily cruel and closed.
What did inmates dislike most about Alcatraz? The common theme expressed by most inmates was the rule of silence which was discontinued in the late 1930's. In the earlier years of Alcatraz, inmates were not allowed to talk to one another except during meals and recreation periods.
Alvin KarpisLegend says he was captured by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover himself and sentenced to life imprisonment at Alcatraz for ten murders, six kidnappings, and a robbery. He was the last of the depression-era criminals to be caught and served the longest sentence, 26 years, of any Alcatraz prisoner.
Alcatraz gained notoriety from its inception as the toughest prison in America, considered by many the world's most fearsome prison of the day. Former prisoners reported brutality and inhumane conditions which severely tested their sanity. Ed Wutke was the first prisoner to commit suicide in Alcatraz.
Due to the security of the prison facility itself, the distance from shore, cold water, and strong currents, few dared to attempt to escape. during which the prison housed about 1,500 total prisoners, only 14 total escape attempts were made.
Alcatraz officials have suggested they drowned or died of hypothermia. Read more Alcatraz stories here. But now, more than 50 years later, the Anglin family has provided evidence that the men might have survived.
Prison Guard Harold P. Stites was shot and killed (by friendly fire) during the rescue attempt while Prison Guard William A. Miller died of his injuries the following day in the cell. In addition to the deaths of those two, 14 other prison guards were wounded in the battle.
Perhaps the most famous of all Alcatraz inmates is Robert Stroud, often remembered for his portrayal in the 1962 movie Birdman of Alcatraz. He was convicted of murder in 1909 after shooting a man at point-blank range. The victim was reportedly a client of a prostitute Stroud was pimping and had refused to pay her.
Frank Lucas BoltLittle has been documented about Alcatraz's LGBTQ+ prisoners, but gay men did play a role in the infamous prison. In fact, it was a queer man, Frank Lucas Bolt, who served as the prison's first official inmate.
A typical supper menu included soup, a green salad or vegetable, starches [bread or rolls, and potatoes, rice, or pasta], a meat entree, and dessert [pie, cake, or ice cream].
On March 21, 1963, the final 27 inmates were removed from Alcatraz, ending its 29-year reign as America's most infamous lock-up. Its clearing was a months-long process, as small groups of inmates were removed from their cells and taken to SFO to be flown to other maximum security prisons around the country.
The convicts housed in Alcatraz were not necessarily those who had committed the most violent or heinous crimes, but they were the convicts most in need of an attitude adjustment—the most incorrigible and disobedient inmates in the federal penal system.
Frank Morris, John Anglin, and his brother, Clarence Anglin have never been located since escaping the facility — which was at some point home to criminals like Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly and Robert Stroud.
After their convictions, they attempted escape. Two were executed and one sentenced to 99 years in prison. The only three inmates not accounted for after trying to escape were John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris, who broke out together in June 1962.
There a chartered bus transported them to an undisclosed airport where a U.S. Immigration Service airplane took them to their new institutions in Leavenworth, Kan.; McNeill Island, Wash.; Lewisburg, Pa.; or Atlanta, Ga.
On 12 June 1962, guards at the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary began their day with a startling discovery. Three inmates were missing from their cells. John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris had escaped.
It has since been under the direction of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and now operates as a tourist site and museum dedicated to its time as a federal penitentiary. Operating costs still remain one of its biggest challenges today.