Alcatraz Prison

In 1909, a federal penitentiary was built. This prison would change the ways of crime and imprisonment forever. Alcatraz island, also known as “The Rock”, opened in 1934 and kept some of the most dangerous prisoners in the world. The island “...was considered the toughest prison America could produce” (“Escape From Alcatraz”). Alcatraz had maximum security and minimum privilege. “...Alcatraz represented the government’s attempt to take a hard-line stance against the rampant crime in the 1920s and ‘30s” (“Escape From Alcatraz”). 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

Alcatraz closed in 1963. A new prison was going to be built on the mainland, in Marion Illinois (“Alcatraz History”). In 1962, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, James Bennett, wrote a statement to press, about the closure of Alcatraz. He quotes, “The magnitude of the amount has caused us to reevaluate, with great care, the role which Alcatraz plays in our prison system. We continue to believe that we need an institution of this kind for escape artists, the hostile, the aggressive inmates who cannot or will not adjust in other institutions, and for big-time racketeers, gangsters, and hoodlums. We believe also that a maximum security institution of this kind, having strict regime with minimum privileges, is a crime deterrent of importance” (“Alcatraz History”). Although alcatraz was an important piece in prisons in the 1930s through early ‘60s, there were many problems with the prison, that led it to be unsuccessful. The elements, the isolation, and the prisoners doomed Alcatraz for failure before it was in