Alcatraz the terrible! part 3
The tour was well done, taking you stepby step around the prison giving you the prisoners and the guards views on life in there.
I especially liked it that the real men were talking – perhaps as part of an interview as the prison came to close in 1963?
they did the soundsof the cell doors closing and the inmates shouting and rattling their tin mugs on the bars, Very atmospheric and chilling! Each corridor was given a street type name such as Broadway. The cells were so small when we saw the first ones that I couldn’t imagine where the bed went. Further on I realised that a seat pulled down from the wall on one side of the cell and the bed pulled down from the opposite wall. I reckon the cells were about 8 foot by 4 foot to include toilet (I use the word loosely!), sink, shelf,bed and seat. Al ‘scar face’ Capone and Robert Stroud – ‘the bird man of Alcatraz’ were just a couple of the inmates here. Stroud’s story in the film was somewhat poetic license as he never had birds or fed birds in Alcatraz – he had canaries in Leavenworth Jail where he studied birds too. Might be usefulfor a qiuz question one time! There was one successful escape by 4 inmateswho were never heard of again – some say they were drowned, others that they were in Mexico. There was a rather nasty attempt at a break out where a prisoner shot 3 or 4 guards they had locked in a cell, in cold blood. Needless to say reinforcements in largenumbers cameand shot them, I have a photo of some of the bullet holes that were left after this attempt. They were subject to a strict regime and only the well behaved got priveleges like being ableto go outside for games or just to walk. By the time we reached this outside area I was keen to get out for a breather! Most of the cells were 3 high and the most coveted ones were those that got the sun. The opposite to these were the ones for solitary confinement after a misdemeanour – the ‘hole’ really small, no bed and often in the dark for up to 19 days. And it was pitch black, awful. Still they shouldn’t have murdered people should they? One of the guards who lived there said they still didn’t lock their doors at night! I came out thinking what an awful place it was but the conditions were apparently quite good as far as prisons went – but regulation 5 says it all – You are entitled to food, medical attention, shelter and clothing, anything else you get is a privilege. Good boys could use the library and many did in depth studies. What a life! I was back atthe landing just over 2 hours from setting off. Thankgoodness!
Tags: Travel
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