allowed to have radios, newspapers or magazines. Mail was strictly controlled, it was considered a privilege that could be removed, and letters were carefully vetted before being sent or received. Above all, a good work detail had to be earned by good conduct.
Prisoners each had their own cell, but little else apart from the bare necessities − food, water, clothing and medical care should they need it. They were marched everywhere in formation and it did not take much for a privilege to be removed. Discipline was relentlessly applied, and it had to be.
Wardens of America’s prisons were invited to send their worst inmates to Alcatraz, men who were inveterate escapers, or who had proved unmanageable. They were also asked to send high-profile prisoners who had been receiving special treatment because of who they were. No one received special treatment on The Rock.
Every day was the same. A roll call was taken at 6.30am. At 6.55am, the tiers of cells would be opened individually and the prisoners would march in line to the Mess Hall, where they would have 20 minutes to eat breakfast. They were then marched out to their work assignments.
Normally, in American prisons, the ratio of guards to prisoners was one guard for every 12 prisoners. In Alcatraz, however, it was one guard for every three prisoners and the guards carried out counts of the entire prison population no fewer than 12 times a day. The gun galleries ensured that inmates were under constant supervision and guards were also able to watch out for each other.
One of the harshest elements of warden Johnston’s regime was his silence policy. Inmates were not allowed to talk to each other and only to guards when asked a question. It drove several inmates close to insanity and was the subject of much protest by the prisoners. It was later relaxed, to the great relief of the inmates.
The ultimate form of punishment was the Strip Cell, known by inmates as the ‘Oriental’. It was a dark, steel-covered cell with no toilet or sink − merely a hole in the ground, the flushing of which was controlled by a guard. Inmates were put into the cell naked for two days and their diet was restricted. It was cold and there was no light. A mattress was only allowed at night.
There were 14 attempts to escape from Alcatraz between 1934 and 1963, involving 36 prisoners, two of whom were brave enough − or possibly stupid enough − to try twice. Seven were shot and killed, two drowned, five were unaccounted for, thought to have drowned in the bay’s swirling waters, and the remainder were recaptured. Only two actually succeeded in reaching the mainland, but even they were recaptured.
On 11 June 1962, two brothers, John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris carried out one of Alcatraz’s most daring escape attempts. They chiselled their way through the damp concrete around a steel grille, giving them access to a utility corridor that ran behind their cells. They contrived tools such as a metal spoon soldered with silver from a 10 cent coin and ingeniously constructed an electric drill using a stolen vacuum cleaner motor, the noise of which was hidden by accordions that were played during the prison music hour. The rivets from the grill were replaced by rivets fashioned from soap. They left dummies made from papier mâché and were in the bay by 10pm. They had stolen several raincoats from which they created a makeshift raft. Needless to say, articles relating to their escape were found washed up on a nearby island and the official report into the escape states that the three men drowned.
Alcatraz opened its doors to a number of infamous residents over the 29 years it served as a federal prison. Robert Stroud arrived there in 1942 and spent 17 years at Alcatraz for murder. He became famous as the Birdman of Alcatraz, taking solace from keeping birds in his cell. The most notorious gangster of them all, Al ‘Scarface’ Capone, arrived in 1934 after having received special
Prisoners each had their own cell, but little else apart from the bare necessities − food, water, clothing and medical care should they need it. They were marched everywhere in formation and it did not take much for a privilege to be removed. Discipline was relentlessly applied, and it had to be.
Wardens of America’s prisons were invited to send their worst inmates to Alcatraz, men who were inveterate escapers, or who had proved unmanageable. They were also asked to send high-profile prisoners who had been receiving special treatment because of who they were. No one received special treatment on The Rock.
Every day was the same. A roll call was taken at 6.30am. At 6.55am, the tiers of cells would be opened individually and the prisoners would march in line to the Mess Hall, where they would have 20 minutes to eat breakfast. They were then marched out to their work assignments.
Normally, in American prisons, the ratio of guards to prisoners was one guard for every 12 prisoners. In Alcatraz, however, it was one guard for every three prisoners and the guards carried out counts of the entire prison population no fewer than 12 times a day. The gun galleries ensured that inmates were under constant supervision and guards were also able to watch out for each other.
One of the harshest elements of warden Johnston’s regime was his silence policy. Inmates were not allowed to talk to each other and only to guards when asked a question. It drove several inmates close to insanity and was the subject of much protest by the prisoners. It was later relaxed, to the great relief of the inmates.
The ultimate form of punishment was the Strip Cell, known by inmates as the ‘Oriental’. It was a dark, steel-covered cell with no toilet or sink − merely a hole in the ground, the flushing of which was controlled by a guard. Inmates were put into the cell naked for two days and their diet was restricted. It was cold and there was no light. A mattress was only allowed at night.
There were 14 attempts to escape from Alcatraz between 1934 and 1963, involving 36 prisoners, two of whom were brave enough − or possibly stupid enough − to try twice. Seven were shot and killed, two drowned, five were unaccounted for, thought to have drowned in the bay’s swirling waters, and the remainder were recaptured. Only two actually succeeded in reaching the mainland, but even they were recaptured.
On 11 June 1962, two brothers, John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris carried out one of Alcatraz’s most daring escape attempts. They chiselled their way through the damp concrete around a steel grille, giving them access to a utility corridor that ran behind their cells. They contrived tools such as a metal spoon soldered with silver from a 10 cent coin and ingeniously constructed an electric drill using a stolen vacuum cleaner motor, the noise of which was hidden by accordions that were played during the prison music hour. The rivets from the grill were replaced by rivets fashioned from soap. They left dummies made from papier mâché and were in the bay by 10pm. They had stolen several raincoats from which they created a makeshift raft. Needless to say, articles relating to their escape were found washed up on a nearby island and the official report into the escape states that the three men drowned.
Alcatraz opened its doors to a number of infamous residents over the 29 years it served as a federal prison. Robert Stroud arrived there in 1942 and spent 17 years at Alcatraz for murder. He became famous as the Birdman of Alcatraz, taking solace from keeping birds in his cell. The most notorious gangster of them all, Al ‘Scarface’ Capone, arrived in 1934 after having received special
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