Many people would love to believe that Frank Morris and the two Anglin brothers lived through there escape from Alcatraz, but it cannot be proven. It has been fifty years since their escape and we still have no evidence as to whether or not they ever even lived. Alcatraz has become one of the most haunted places in America and was home to some of America's most notorious criminals. Some will choose to believe that the ghosts of Alcatraz exist, but others may not. So, why did Alcatraz shut down? How did the prisoners escape and are they alive?
The famous Alcatraz Island is located in the San Francisco Bay one and a half miles offshore from San Francisco, California. One might say that the climate on Alcatraz is very unpredictable, but why? Some people would like to believe that it is because of all the spirits of prisoners hanging around but that is not the case here. One reported that, “cold, foggy mornings may give way to sunny afternoons, which in turn can shift quickly back to more fog and blustery winds.” It rarely reaches above seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit or lower than thirty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, it almost never snows on the island. Winters are wet and winds are expected in every season. (Alcatraz Cruises).
We all know that prisoners lived on Alcatraz Island, but where did the guards and their families live? Since Alcatraz is not very big, guard families lived in building number sixty-four. There were three apartment buildings, one large duplex, and four wooden houses for senior officers. The Warden lived in a large home adjacent to the cell houses. He used inmates that had been reported to have good behavior to clean and cook for him. The Captain and the Associate Warden lived in the one duplex. A...
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(Internet) "The shadowlands: famous hauntings."Alcatraz31 January 2014. .
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Unable to get official permission to interview and write about correctional officers, Ted Conover, author of the book Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing, “got in" by applying for a correctional officer position. After training, he and his fellow rookies, known as "newjacks," were randomly assigned to Sing Sing, one of the country's most famous -- and infamous -- prisons. Sing Sing, a maximum-security male prison, was built in 1828 by prisoners themselves, kept at their task by frequent use of the whip. Today, the chaos, the backbiting, the rundown building and equipment, the disrespect and the relentless stress that Conover experienced in his year at Sing Sing show, quite well, how the increase of prisons in the U.S. brutalizes more than just the prisoners. Some of the individuals in Conover's entering "class" of corrections trainees had always wanted to work in law enforcement. Others were ex-military, looking for a civilian job that they thought would reward structure and discipline. But most came looking for a steady job with good benefits. To get it, they were desperate enough to commute hours each way, or even to live apart from their families during the work week. Their job consists of long days locking and unlocking cells, moving prisoners to and from various locations while the prisoners beg, hassle and abuse them. Sometimes, the prisoners' requests are simple, but against the rules: an extra shower, some contraband cigarettes. Other times, they are appropriate, but unbelievably complicated: it can take months to get information about property lost in the transfer from one prison to another. Meanwhile, the orders officers give are ignored. Discipline -- even among the officers themselves -- is non-existent. And with the money and benefits of this "good" job come nightmares and family stress, daily uncertainty about one's job and duties, and pent-up frustration that, every so often, explodes in violence -- instigated by staff as well as by prisoners.
What disturbed me is that although the prisoners have committed a crime, it is wrong for the wardens treat them like “animals”. It is astonishing that the inmates are able to survive through each day. If I was expected to eat the rotten food, I would choose not to eat, which would have eventually lead to starvation. I am aware that the feeling of starvation is unbearable, it’s almost like if there was something stabbing through your guts. Previously mentioned, I would rather just get shot because if I was an inmate in the cell, I would end up not eating anything at. This will then lead to death, whereas getting blasted by a gun would be faster and significantly more
When people talk about Alcatraz, they usually remember it is an island with a prison on it, but many do not know what is included inside the prison. Two common places inmates were in most of the time were either the dining hall, where the prisoners and staff would eat their meals, or a library in which inmates could check out books and magazines. The Models Industries Building contained a laundry facility, and the New Industries Building contained a clothing factory, dry cleaning plant, furniture plant, and a brush factory where prisoners could work and earn money. Prisoners had the chance to make items such as gloves, furniture mats, and army uniforms. Military officers were found in the dining hall since that was where they ate their meals, but they were also found in the other places as well. Former Military Chapel was a small building, where the ground floor had quarters for the officers and their families who worked at the prison. In 1920, when the building was first built, the top floor of the building was used as a school and chapel, but in 1934 when Alcatraz became a Federal Penitentiary, the building became a Bachelor Quarters for unmarried officers. Later on, the officers and their families eventually stayed in Building 64 which was a three story apartment building. The best part of living in the prison for
Santos, Michael G. Inside: Life Behind Bars in America. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2006. Print.
Due to the lack of evidence claiming they died and the overwhelming evidence that there is to back up that they are alive. I believe that the Anglin brothers successfully made it out of Alcatraz alive.
The 1970s in the United States was a time of incredible change, doubt, as well as reform. The many issues happening throughout the country helped to lead to the discomfort in many prisoners that eventually lead to their e...
In the 1970s, prison was a dangerous place. Prison violence and the high numbers of disruptive inmates led prison authorities to seek new ways to control prisoners. At first, prison staff sought to minimize contact with prisoners by keeping them in their cells for a majority of the day. As time went on, the prison authorities began to brainstorm the idea of having entire prisons dedicated to using these kind of procedures to control the most violent and disruptive inmates. By 1984, many states began construction on super-maximum prisons. In California, two supermax facilities were built by the state: Corcoran State Prison in 1988, and then Pelican Bay in 1989. The federal government soon followed suit and in 1994, the “first federal supermax opened, in Florence, Colorado.” It was not much longer before supermax prisons could be seen all over the country (Abramsky). In Wisconsin’s supermax facility, with similar conditions being found in a majority of supermaxes, there are “100-cell housing units” that are in groups of 25 cells. These cells all face a secured central area. Technology plays a major role in keeping the facility to the highest security standards. Every cell’s doors are controlled remotely and the cells include “video surveillance, motion detection and exterior lighting” (Berge). With these technological securities, there are also procedural precautions. Inmates are kept in their cells for 23 hours a day until their sentences are done. This is said to be for prisoner and staff safety, although some feel otherwise. In 2001, 600 inmates at Pelican Bay went on a hunger strike, demanding reform. Those on hunger strike believed that the isolation and deprivation they faced was against their Eighth Amendment rights. ...
Have you ever wondered what’s the toughest jail in the United States is? Have you ever wondered if anybody has ever escaped it? Have you ever wondered how someone could escape it? Frank Morris was in the toughest jail in the U.S, and he has escaped it. The mystery of Frank Morris can be explored through his childhood, how he broke out, and theories on if he is still alive.Frank Morris had a sad childhood, as he was orphaned and was in and out of jail from a young age. Frank Morris’s mother died when he was very young. “From his infant years until his teens Morris was shuffled from one foster home to another.”(The Great Escape from Alcatraz - Page 1 ,2) . Frank committed his first crime at the age of 13. Frank got in a lot of trouble when he was in his childhood from in and out of jails from the age of 13 for robbery and offences.Frank Morris was a young guy who was by himself and that's what started him getting into jails and that eventually let to being incarcerated at Alcatraz. Frank Morris had a very high I.Q and found a plan to escape alcatraz.“The plan was extremely complex and involved the design and fabrication of ingenious lifelike dummies, water rafts, and life preservers, fashioned from over fifty rain coats that had been acquired from other inmates - some donated and some stolen. They would also require a variety of crudely made tools to dig with, and to construct the accessories necessary for the escape.”(The great escape from Alcatraz- page 1, 6). In May of 1962 they had dug through the 6 by 9 cell holes and were ready to take off. The Anglin Brothers had a cell right next to each other. Frank Morris was working with the Anglin brothers ( John and Clarence) were working with them along with Allen West.While the plan was in the process
Alcatraz Island has quite a distinct history. Many people know that Alcatraz served as a federal prison, but most are reluctant to know that this island served as fort. Built before the Civil War, it served two main purposes. First, that it was to guard the San Francisco bay area from enemy ships against a foreign invasion, and second, to hold hostage prisoners of war or POW's as they were called. In this report, I'll show you how this fortress came to be a federal prison, why it is no longer in operation today, and most importantly, to show why it was built in the first place. When the great "Gold Rush" of 1849 first started, California grew from what would be considered a small, unpopulated state, into what it is now. California is now one of the most populated states and it was mostly the gold rush that brought attention to California. As the government saw all of this happening, they realized that California was much more important than they ever realized. In their realization, they decided that California must be protected. San Francisco has one of the largest bays in all of California, and so this was where enemy countries would most likely to try to invade the country. So this is where Alcatraz was to lie, to serve as a military fort. It was supposed to serve as a secondary base in companionship to another base located on the other side of Golden Gate Bridge. But with severe problems trying to build this other base, Alcatraz was to remain alone. "Out in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, the island of Alcatraz is definitely a world unto itself. Isolation is just one of the many constants of island life for any inhabitant on Alcatraz Island. It is the most reoccurring theme in the unfolding history of Alcatraz Island. Alcatraz Island is one of Golden Gate National Recreation Area's most popular destinations, offering a close-up look at a historic and infamous federal prison long off-limits to the public. Visitors to the island can not only explore the remnants of the prison, but learn of the American occupation of 1969 - 1971, early military fortifications and the West Coast's first and oldest operating lighthouse. These structures stand among the island's many natural features - gardens, tidepools, bird nests, and bay views beyond compare." (1) Fortress Alcatraz ran in operation from 1850 - 1933. It served as San Fr...
Through two metal, cold doors, I was exposed to a whole new world. Inside the Gouverneur Correctional Facility in New York contained the lives of over 900 men who had committed felonies. Just looking down the pathway, the grass was green, and the flowers were beautifully surrounding the sidewalks. There were different brick buildings with their own walkways. You could not tell from the outside that inside each of these different buildings 60 men lived. On each side, sharing four phones, seven showers, and seven toilets. It did not end there, through one more locked metal door contained the lives of 200 more men. This life was not as beautiful and not nearly as big. Although Gouverneur Correctional Facility was a medium security prison, inside this second metal door was a high wired fence, it was a max maximum security prison. For such a clean, beautifully kept place, it contained people who did awful, heart-breaking things.
...from stories of the time. While many sources say that they argue with the wild perpetuation in their first paragraph they then maintain an indefinite description of the prison and attempt not to give a detailed look at the components and history of the prison before it lost life when shutting down aside from those stories describing how wild the west was. With this I was also not able to talk to any true experts of the prison, nor visit the prison or those surviving the ones who lived there on either side of the law causing my knowledge and research to be limited to the web, which as before mentioned is limited by lack of fresh or widely varied information. Had there been more sources that went into detail about the prisons other features aside from its capacity I would have been able to give more than an educated, generalized guess on how the some of the prison was.
In Ohio, five murders escaped a maximum-security private prison. The food budget can easily be manipulated compared to other parts of the budget. As a result, it is important to examine the food quality in prisons. In a case study of Taft Correctional Institution (a private prison), this private institution ranked the worst in quality of food, variety of food, and amount of food compared to all BOP facilities (Camp et al., 2002).
Unfortunately, between 1934 and 1963, there were fourteen escape attempts, involving thirty six inmates (Cavendish). “... 23 were caught, six were shot dead, two drowned…” (Cavendish), two were presumed drowned and three are missing. Those three men, John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris are presumed dead, but
There were twenty-eight prisoner deaths while Alcatraz was open. Five inmates committed suicide, fifteen died of natural causes, and eight were murdered. Everything about the prison seemed appalling, but why wouldn’t it? There had been countless prison fights, some of which resulted in prisoners gaining nearly fatal wounds, such as a fight started by inmate James "Tex" Lucas, who attempted to kill the infamous mobster, Al Capone. Alcatraz was centered in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The waters surrounding it were known to hold some of the lowest temperatures in the state. This caused gruesomely cold temperatures in the actual prison, which many inmates harshly complained about. Yet the cold climate was nowhere near as ghastly as the
In San Francisco, California is where the notorious Alcatraz prison is located. A total number of 14 escape attempts which included 36 men. Twenty-three were caught,seven were killed,and one person drowned. But, you can’t forget about the inmates Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers’ . Some people believe that these inmates died trying to escape.Others believe that the Alcatraz escapees are still alive to this day. On June 11,1962 the brothers were never seen or heard from again,or at least that’s what people say. Even though there was a high likelihood that their boat could have been swept out to sea by the strong current, Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers could have pushed their way through the current and survived.