Alcatraz Federal Penitenciary: The escape of Frank Morris and the Anglin Brothers

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ALCATRAZ FEDERAL PENITENTIARY

Alcatraz was a maximum-security penitentiary located in Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California. It was operated from 1934 to 1963, and during its 29 years of operation it gained a reputation well known among society. It was believed to be an escape-proof penitentiary. “The Rock” was a popular name that identified Alcatraz, and its mention provoked fear among prisoners. They were aware of the isolation system that Alcatraz severely enforced. Alcatraz was meant to tame the toughest and most notorious criminals that other penitentiaries could not control, such as USP Atlanta and USP Leavenworth. Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and Robert “Birdman” Stroud were some of the most notorious criminals held within the walls of “The Rock”. Moreover, Alcatraz Island is 1.5 miles off shore. This distance provided Alcatraz Penitentiary with an essential advantage. It was the most challenging obstacle for any prisoner who tried to escape. Alcatraz’ regulations also proved to be quite successful, but not flawless. “…they frequently underwent the scrutiny of a metal detector… but the device was fickle, ringing loudly when unarmed men walked through but allowing the occasional knife to pass unnoticed.”(Bergreen 541). There are sophisticated regulations and improvements that can be implemented to a penitentiary. However, I strongly believe that no penitentiary will ever be escape-proof.
Some of the regulations and conditions inside Alcatraz are mentioned by Bosworth. Prisoners were not to share cells, so each had his own. There was high staff ratio in comparison to inmate ratio. Movement of prisoners from one place to another was highly restricted and monitored. Six cells conformed the D Unit or Trea...

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...American government that there will never be an escape-proof prison. The uncertainty that the prisoners left behind corrupted the imposing view of Alcatraz Penitentiary. I think that any penitentiary cannot ever be 100% flawless because there will always be a failure in the system that convicts will notice. Eventually, criminals will be taking advantage of those flaws in one way or another.

Works Cited

Bergreen, Laurence. Capone: The Man and the Era. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Print.
Bosworth, Mary. Encyclopedia of Prisons & Correctional Facilities. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2005. Print.
National Geographic Alcatraz Breakout New Evidence NAT GEO. 28 May 2013. < http://youtu.be/IsWsI7TnHtk >.You Tube. Web. Apr 8 2014.
Roth, Mitchel P. Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006. Print.

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