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Alcatraz gained notoriety from its inception as the toughest prison in the U.S., considered by many the world's most fearsome prison of the day. Former prisoners reported brutality and inhumane conditions which severely tested their sanity. [13] [14] [15] Ed Wutke was the first prisoner to commit suicide in Alcatraz.
Escape from Alcatraz is a 1963 non-fiction book, written by San Francisco Chronicle reporter John Campbell Bruce, [1] [2] [3] ...
John Knight Giles (February 16, 1895 – February 8, 1979) was an inmate at Alcatraz prison, most well known for an escape attempt in 1945. [1] [2] [3] He was originally sentenced to the United States Penitentiary on May 11, 1935, for attempted robbery of the Denver and Rio Grande Western mail train; he had previously been serving a life sentence in Oregon for murder before escaping.
The Occupation of Alcatraz (November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971) was a 19-month long occupation by 89 American Indians and their supporters of Alcatraz Island and its prison complex, classified as abandoned surplus federal land. [1] The occupation was led by Richard Oakes, LaNada Means, and others, while John Trudell served as spokesman. The ...
John Paul Scott (January 3, 1927 [1] – February 22, 1987 [2]) was an American criminal who is noted as the only escapee from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary known to have reached the San Francisco shore by swimming. He was recaptured almost immediately.
On December 16, 1962, Alcatraz inmate John Paul Scott made water wings from inflated rubber gloves [39] and swam 2.7 nautical miles (5.0 km; 3.1 mi) from Alcatraz to Fort Point, at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. He was found there by teenagers, suffering from hypothermia and exhaustion. [40]
The Battle of Alcatraz, which lasted from May 2 to 4, 1946, was the result of an escape attempt at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary by armed convicts. Two Federal Bureau of Prisons officers—William A. Miller and Harold Stites—were killed (Miller by inmate Joseph Cretzer who attempted escape and Stites by friendly fire).
Gaddis's book was loosely adapted as the 1962 film Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster as Stroud. Gaddis was portrayed by Edmond O'Brien. [4] Gaddis is known for the following quote: "Alcatraz, the federal prison with a name like the blare of a trombone, is a black molar in the jawbone of the nation's prison system."