FREE ESSAY ON ALCATRAZ ISLAND

ALCATRAZ ISLAND

Alcatraz Island was opened from 1934 to 1963. At that time it was the last stop in the
federal penitentiary pipeline. It housed famous criminals such as Al "Scarface" Capone,
George "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Robert Stroud, "The Birdman of Alcatraz" (American
Automobile Association 81). The warden, James Johnston, turned it into such a brutal
place that even the most hardened criminals started calling it "Hellcatraz". That raises
the question was Alcatraz's brutality essential, or just plain cruel? 
Located on a twenty-two acre island in San Francisco Bay, about a half mile off shore
(National Geographic), Alcatraz was built out of an old military fort. It consisted of a
cellhouse, the old fort, work buildings, a lighthouse, and a mess hall. Some considered
Alcatraz escape proof. The entire structure was surrounded by a cyclone fence topped with
barbed wire. The cellhouse was three stories of reinforced concrete. Elevated gun
galleries were built at each end of the cellhouse. Inmates were monitored constantly by
guards on a central walkway surrounded by bars. All doors on the island were
electronically operated and were designed to slam and let the inmate know the guards were
in total control. Coming back from work inmates were checked eleven times and had to get
through three metal detectors. Then in their cells they were counted up to thirty times a
day (Stuller 87). 
Well behaved inmates could spend their Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching a movie or
in the recreation yard. In the yard they could lounge about, lift weights, play in a
softball game, or sit down to a game of chess, dominoes, or bridge. 
A typical day went like this: At 6:30 AM you wake up to a loud clang of the prison alarm
bell. You crawl out of bed just as a guard walks by your cell taking the first count of
the day. Then you have twenty minutes to brush your teeth, get dressed, and make your
bed. You lounge around and wait for your fifteen man group to get called to breakfast.
You spend twenty minutes in the mess hall, hoping the tear gas canisters above your head
don't "malfunction" and go off (Corrections 54). Then you return to your cell while
everyone else eats. You then go down to the workshops for several hours of hard labor.
Then you go back to your cell for the lunch rotation After, you spend hours in your small
cell, passing the time however possible. Then you go back to work and have supper. At
5:30 PM you're locked in your cell for the next thirteen hours. Promptly at 9:30 the
lights all shut off, leaving you in utter darkness. On foggy days when guards didn't have
a clear line of fire, inmates were only let out for meals (Stuller 87). 
For several hours a day, convicts could go to the workshops and work. They could craft
shoes, make pallets, or wash laundry. They earned small amounts of money, but it was
worthless because there was nothing they could buy. 
The only contact inmates had with the outside world was through heavily censored
magazines, censored books, and monthly visits (Corrections 54). Visits only lasted a half
hour and they had to talk over telephones through thick glass. The conversations were
monitored and could be cut off at any time. Inmates could also write letters, but they
were heavily censored and rarely mailed. 
The prison was extremely expensive to run. It cost forty-eight thousand dollars per
inmate per year (Corrections 54). Today it would cost over one hundred thousand dollars.
There was approximately one guard for every three prisoners, an extremely high ratio.
There were about one hundred other prison employees. It could hold two hundred
seventy-five prisoners. The cells were five feet by nine feet, less space than many
animal shelters give a dog. 
Because nobody was ever sent directly to Alcatraz (they had to earn their way there by
being a threat in other prisons), Alcatraz was filled with horrible criminals. Upon
arrival inmates were stripped, showered and searched. This was meant to deflate their
egos. Then they were given thin, plain coveralls, and sent directly into the main
population. 
Inmates who misbehaved had some privileges taken away. If they continued to be bad, they
were put in the D Block, nicknamed "The Hole". This area had solid steel doors and no
windows. Inmates were left in these cells for up to 10 days in complete darkness. If that
didn't calm them down they were locked in the damp, cold, basement of the old fort
(Stuller 88). 
Normal inmates had to find a way to spend hours in their cells. Some wrote letters, read,
painted, drew, and others planned escape, ways to get at enemies, and ways to get off the
island. Inmates would memorize every move of the guards down to the second. They stole
anything they could that would tear flesh, cut steel or chip stone. They would tie
strings to these objects and hide them in toilets or down drainpipes. Some of these
probably are still hidden today. 
Records show that every year an average of fourteen convicts went violently insane and
two prison guards were killed. Sixteen prison employees were assaulted every year.
One-hundred-nineteen inmates were assaulted every year. But in twenty-nine years only
five inmates committed suicide, although countless others tried (Corrections 54). For
example, while in the workshop one day, an inmate named Rufe Persful got hold of a
hatchet. He promptly chopped off all the fingers on one hand. Another man named John
Stadig pried a vein out of his wrist with a bent fork. He then bit it in half. He was
stopped before he could do it to his other wrist (Stuller 88). 
While many people thought Alcatraz was inescapable, they were wrong. The first con to
attempt escape was Joseph Bowers. In 1936 he climbed a fence in full sight of the guards
and was shot dead. There was always the icy waters and swift currents of the bay. Floyd
Hamilton made it to the water and disappeared. A manhunt failed to find him. Hamilton
couldn't get himself to swim off. He hid in sand caves while deciding to swim. Finally,
hungry, wet, and cold, Hamilton snuck into a prison storeroom and fell asleep while
awaiting capture. 
The most fabled getaway involved Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin. In 1962,
using stolen tools they chipped through vents in their cells and replaced them with
cardboard replicas. With dummy heads in their bunks to fool night guards, they climbed
into a utility corridor above the B block, into the ceiling and then cut through a vent.
They made an inflatable raft out of stolen rain jackets The preparation took 6 months. On
June 11 they exited through the roof, climbed down a drainpipe and got away. Officials
found personal belongings in the bay but no bodies. If they made it to shore, they never
pulled another crime (Stuller 90). 
In 1946, six inmates took weapons from a guard. They intended to blast out. Led by Joseph
Cretzer and Bernard Coy, the inmates controlled the cellhouse for three days. Thousands
of spectators watched from the city as the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines circled the
island. The Marines decided to end it and climbed on the roof while throwing grenades
down through vents and skylights. Cretzer pointed his gun at a group of guards in a cell
and opened fire. Only one was killed. Two of the three ring leaders were later executed
(Stuller 92). 
Alcatraz housed some of the worst criminals in America and the harsh life they lived was
necessary to keep them under control. Sure life was brutal but every convict in there had
earned it one way or another. For many inmates, Alcatraz was the only truly intimidating
thing in the world. "The Rock" (American Automobile Association 81) is a fascinating
place with a facinating and sometimes gruesome history.