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Mar 31, 2013 · Living Memories From The Last Days Of Alcatraz. Fifty years ago, the notorious Alcatraz prison shut its gate behind guard Jim Albright as he escorted the last inmate off the island on March...
- 1936 - Headstrong
- 1937 - Storm Is Brewing
- 1938 - Workshop Attack
- 1939 - The Failed Five
- 1941 - Using The Force
- 1941 - Cold as Ice
- 1943 - Spidermen
- 1943 - Missing Sock
- 1945 - Uncle Sam
- 1946 - Battle of Alcatraz
April 27, 1936-- While working his job burning trash at the incinerator, Joe Bowers began climbing up and over the chain link fence at the island's edge. After refusing orders to climb back down, Bowers was shot by a correctional officer stationed in the West road guard tower, then fell about 50-100 feet to the shore below. He died from his injurie...
December 16, 1937-- Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe worked in the mat shop in the model industries building. Over a period of time, while working in the mat shop in the model industries building, they filed their way through the flat iron bars on a window. After climbing through the window, they made their way down to the water's edge and disappeared i...
May 23, 1938-- While at work in the woodworking shop in the model industries building, James Limerick, Jimmy Lucas, and Rufus Franklin attacked unarmed correctional officer Royal Cline with a hammer (Cline died from his injuries). The three then climbed to the roof in an attempt to disarm the correctional officer in the roof tower. The officer, Har...
January 13, 1939-- Arthur "Doc" Barker, Dale Stamphill, William Martin, Henry Young, and Rufus McCain escaped from the isolation unit in the cellhouse by sawing through the flat iron cell bars and bending tool-proof bars on a window. They then made their way down to the water's edge. Correctional officers found the men at the shoreline on the west ...
May 21, 1941-- Joe Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Arnold Kyle, and Lloyd Barkdoll took several correctional officers hostage while working in the industries area. The officers, including Paul Madigan (who later became Alcatraz's third warden), were able to convince the four that they could not escape and they surrendered.
September 15, 1941-- While on garbage detail, John Bayless attempted to escape. He gave up shortly after entering the cold water of San Francisco Bay. Later, while appearing in Federal court in San Francisco, Bayless tried, again unsuccessfully, to escape from the courtroom.
April 14, 1943-- James Boarman, Harold Brest, Floyd Hamilton, and Fred Hunter took two officers hostage while at work in the industries area. The four climbed out a window and made their way down to the water's edge. One of the hostages was able to alert other officers to the escape and shots were fired at Boarman, Brest, and Hamilton, who were swi...
August 7, 1943-- Huron "Ted" Walters disappeared from the prison laundry building. He was caught at the shoreline, before he could even attempt to enter San Francisco Bay.
July 31, 1945-- In one of the most ingenious attempts, John Giles was able to take advantage of his job working at the loading dock, where he unloaded army laundry sent to the island to be cleaned - over time, he stole an entire army uniform. Dressed in the uniform, Giles calmly walked aboard an army launch to what he thought was freedom. He was di...
May 2-4, 1946-- During this incident, known as the "Battle of Alcatraz" and the "Alcatraz Blastout," six prisoners were able to overpower cellhouse officers and gain access to weapons and cellhouse keys, in effect taking control of the cellhouse. Their plan began to fall apart when the inmates found they did not have the key to unlock the recreatio...
On March 21, 1963, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary officially closed its doors for the last time. The remaining inmates was transferred to other federal prisons, and the once-feared island prison fell silent. The closure was met with little fanfare, marking a quiet end to one of the most infamous prisons in American history.
People also ask
Is Alcatraz a prison?
Was Alcatraz a desegregated prison?
Why did Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary close?
Are Alcatraz prisons better than other federal prisons?
Even though Alcatraz closed 50 years ago, the prison on an isolated island in the middle of San Francisco Bay remains the foremost symbol of criminal justice in the first half of the 20th century.
When Alcatraz closed, most of the prisoners were transferred to other federal prisons. Some, like the infamous gangster Al Capone, had already finished their sentences and were released. Others, like George “Machine Gun” Kelly, died in prison before being able to transfer.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, during the 29 years that Alcatraz was a high security penitentiary, there were 14 different attempts at escape involving 36 different prisoners. All of these men were either caught or died during the attempt, except for three—but whether they successfully escaped remains a mystery.
Nov 12, 2020 · In California, prisons weren’t desegregated until after the 2005 US Supreme Court decision that declared it unconstitutional to segregate people inside of a prison. Lipscomb’s story isn’t one that can be tied up neatly with a happy ending, but it’s a story of Alcatraz that can remind us to listen to those who speak up in the name of ...
