How To Escape Alcatraz Prison

813 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Alcatraz prison speech

June 11, 1962, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was known for being the most secure prison. It was declared inescapable during its years of operation from 1934 to 1963. Located on a rocky island in the middle of the swift, icy currents of San Francisco Bay, until late June of 1962, no one had ever successfully escaped the island. However on June 11, three Alcatraz inmates were able to successfully escape the Alcatraz island prison. They managed to escape their cells through tricking the guards. The guards were tricked when the men created dummies with heads made of plaster and hair clippings to escape, they were able to get off the island, but to get to shore they had to make a makeshift raft out of rain coats, and a paddle made out of wood from the prison workshop. Even after 50 years, they were never seen again, and as a result, some people feel that the three men perished in the ice cold water. While others believe that they were the only inmates to ever successfully escape the island alive. Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin were the only men to successfully escape Alcatraz. The night of escape was perfect, with clear skies and very slow tides; Mythbusters were able to recreate the escape, and John Anglin and his brother …show more content…

After they got out of their cells, the skies were clear with no sign of fog. In addition, the tides of San Francisco Bay were much slower than normal. About 11:00/12:00 p.m. was the time the three men escaped their cells. At this time, the wind was blowing west at the speed of 10 m.p.h. The location they were trying to reach was northwest of the island. The visibility for the day was an average of twelve miles, which means they could have seen twelve miles in front of themselves. It was an evening just like that one when the Mythbusters were able to recreate the escape successfully, the same way Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin

Show More
Related

  • Locked Down: Gangs in the Supermax by Michael Montgomery

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pelican Bay Prison was designed, constructed and finally opened in Northern California in December 1989 at a cost of 217.5 million dollars. It was designed to accommodate 3384 prisoners, of which 2280 may be assigned to solitary confinement and another 1056 to the Secure Housing Unit or “SHU.” These housing numbers however are typically greater and often exceed the designed accommodation by more than 1000. Pelican Bay takes pride in the fact that it was designed to be the most secure, isolated, and intimidating prison in the country. This takes an average of 938 sworn personnel and 460 support staff to accomplish. It was designed to house the most violent convicts and attempts to isolate known gang members from other prisoners and the outside world for 22 + hours a day. Those in the SHU are often the gang leaders and are under constant surveillance by prison staff. The big factors in determining who is placed in the SHU are a history of violence and an affiliation with one of any numerous known gangs.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Importance of Creativity in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    he could find and loaded them into a canoe.  After that, he went into the

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Alcatraz Island And Pearl Harbor

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Supermaximum Security Prisons

    1377 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are a number of issues that need to be taken into consideration when discussing the use of supermax prisons. Hans Toch, a corrections scholar, pointed out that the methods used in supermax prisons are not new penal techniques. In fact, those types of prison conditions were adopted in the past and rejected because of increased rates in inmates developing mental illness (Hickey, 2010). Supermaximum security prisons have been associated with past attempts, like the Eastern State Penitentiary, where twenty-four-hour isolation was used and there were no programs for self improvement. The two main problems associated with supermax prisons are the conditions and the transfer procedures/criteria (Pollock, 2010). Pelican Island in California was a target of a court case, Madr...

    Read More

  • Alcatraz Case

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    On July 1st 1934, Alcatraz opened officially as a federal prison. Previously, the island of Alcatraz was a military prison that held criminals from the American Civil War. Alcatraz was meant to hold only the most disruptive inmates so they could learn how to follow rules. Alcatraz inmates lived under harsh conditions with few privileges.

    Read More

  • The Ghost Of Haunted Alcatraz

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    The description of Alcatraz is sinister and quite mysterious. Many people describe it as a haunted attraction,

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Alcatraz

    1670 Words  | 4 Pages

    Al Capone once said about Alcatraz " Don't mistake my kindness for weakness, I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember me about." One of the most dreaded prisons in America was Alcatraz, it was built on an island in the San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was made for the United States most dangerous and difficult people during its years of being operated. Even though Alcatraz was built as a top end prison it was possible to escape, however it seemed prisoners never made it off the island alive.

    Read More

  • Supermax Prisons: Harmful or Necessary?

    2471 Words  | 5 Pages

    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. ...

    Read More

  • Alcatraz

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alcatraz Imagine yourself living in a dirty, smelly, cold prison cell that has water dripping down the walls from the ceiling and hardly ever seeing daylight. If you were a guest at Alcatraz, that is exactly what you would experience. Alcatraz was a Federal Prison located in the San Francisco Bay. It was built on a twelve acre, solid rock island, one mile from the main land. There were no roads or bridges built to get there.

    Read More

  • The History of Alcatraz Island

    4107 Words  | 9 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Ship

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, I will cover the actual weather conditions of that night and how they may have impacted the ship. Some believe th...

    Read More

  • Private Prisons or For -Profit Prisons

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... This is likely to indicate a pattern of poor security practices within private prisons. Escape from prison is often a rare occurrence. In 1999, BOP had one escape from their facility while private prisons accounted for 23 escapes. When an escape does occur, it is likely to indicate loopholes in security practices.

    Read More

  • What Happens Behind Prison Doors?

    1527 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prisons have dated back to the twentieth century when the United States had almost two million people confined in prisons or jails. Prisons have been a form of government punishment that has shaped our nation to what it is today. The first jail was established in Philadelphia, in 1970. It was called the Walnut Street Jail and was recorded as the first use of imprisonment through solitary confinement. The basic principles of the new system were to reform those in prison, and to segregate those according to age, sex, and type of offenses charged against them (Schoenherr). The second prison was called Sing-Sing a...

    Read More

  • Alcatraz: Prison Reform In The US

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    The thought of Alcatraz started in the 1920’s when gangsters were fighting and killing just about everyone they saw that posed a threat. This was happening because they had made a new law. This law was called the National Prohibition Act. Even though it was illegal so many people wanted to buy alcohol. So the criminals ruled. Some criminals started to sneak alcohol in from other countries. Soon after that Illegal bars opened. This caused a lot of trouble. People couldn’t contain these “super gangsters.” They kept selling the alcohol and making a greater, and greater profit. Most of them lived like kings, they paid the police and local politicians to leave them alone. Even from regular prisons they controlled everything, criminals ruled they paid the guards and kept in touch with their people on the outside. This was when Homer C. Cummings made Alcatraz. This place was for the toughest of the tough. In this essay I will explain Alcatraz.

    Read More

  • Alcatraz: The Legendary Prison

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    We stepped off the large tour boat with a look of fright in both our eyes. Some joy was there, but knowing what went on in this place made us feel the way we did. To me, Alcatraz didn't really look like a shut down prison at that moment. It looked more like an old worn down cemetery. The paint on most of the buildings was chipped off all the way down to the wood. Most of the buildings had collapsed down to some cement foundations and old rusted poles hanging every other way. As we walked to the building where you start your tour, that was probably the only building at this place with cleanliness to it. They gave us our tour headphones, which take you through the whole prison with a audio guide telling you how it was in the prison. Not just how it was for the prisoners, but how it was for the guards too.

    Read More

More about How To Escape Alcatraz Prison

Open Document