Many citizens in the United States today have a common interest in crime. Whether it’s the criminals themselves or the prison facilities that house them, Americans wonder what drives a particular human being to such crime or what goes on inside a maximum security prison. “The American public appears to have an insatiable fascination with what goes on inside prisons. Moviegoers flock to see Hollywood films about prison life (e.g., Escape from Alcatraz, Murder in the First, and The Shawshank Redemption). The news media is quick to cover lurid stories about prisons, including prison disturbances...” (Wright). Consequently, a thought that flies under the radar is the reputations of these hardened convicts and how these reputations are what attract …show more content…
Both prisons were constructed on Islands, making them more unique and notorious than the common prisons found in agricultural and urban areas of counties and cities. When Alcatraz was first introduced to the public in 1859, it operated as a fort for Captain Joseph Stewart and 86 men of the United States Artillery following the Mexican-American War. “Recognizing that the cold water (53° F) and the swift currents surrounding the island made it an ideal site for a prison, eleven of the soldiers who arrived with Captain Stewart were incarcerated in a cell block in the guardhouse basement. Just two months later, another soldier, who was said to have been insane, was jailed with the others. Before long, other forts with less secure garrisons began to send their deserters, escapees, and other prisoners to the island,” (The Long History of Alcatraz Island). In addition to Alcatraz, Rikers Island also contains a prison that is dreaded by criminals who have the luxury of being incarcerated there. The facility, which sits between the Bronx and Queens, is cold, unsanitary, and an all-around miserable experience for hardened convicts. “As long as the City of New York has owned Rikers Island, since the 1880s, it has been a place for the unwanted. For a time, pigs were raised for slaughter there. Not long afterward, the island — conveniently …show more content…
Both Alcatraz and Rikers have become famous to America because of how they treat and house their inmates. Alcatraz became known for containing many of the most dangerous criminals in the United States. An example of one would be Robert Stroud, also known as the, “Birdman of Alcatraz.” “Alcatraz has a longstanding relationship with birds. Everybody knows that one of the most famous residents of the prison was the “Birdman of Alcatraz,” an inmate with a penchant for raising canaries. He gained worldwide fame from the eponymous movie starring Burt Lancaster. Robert Stroud , the real Birdman of Alcatraz, was quite different from his movie counterpart. Stroud was a violent repeat offender who killed two people and tried to kill a third...,” (10 Criminal Facts About the History of Alcatraz). Furthermore, another notable criminal who was incarcerated at Alcatraz was Alvin Karpis. Karpis is famous for being imprisoned on the Island the longest of any prisoner; he served his time for 26 of the 29 years that Alcatraz remained a maximum security prison(10 Criminal Facts About the History of Alcatraz). Following the closing of the prison, Karpis was transported elsewhere to serve out his remaining life sentence. Criminals who arrive at Alcatraz must have had a convincing reason to be there, meaning they must have committed a serious crime at another institution or be a repeated offender of a
Have you ever wondered what the worst prison would be like. Alcatraz was the worst prison ever it had the most baddest criminals ever. Alcatraz was nicknamed "the rock" because it was out in the middle of San Francisco Bay. It was also thought that no one could escape the prison because of all the dangers. Alcatraz opened on August 11, 1934 and closed on March 21, 1963. Alcatraz had some of the worst criminals some of the key moments were when Al Capone the worst bad guy came to Alcatraz, it also effects the people today because they see how bad it was for the prisoners to escape and have to stay there.
Have you ever wondered what the history of alcatraz is? Have you ever thought about the escapers from alcatraz? Some people think of Alcatraz as it was built to be an attraction. It’s real intention was to be a maximum security prison. The history made this one of the most known places in the world.
Security in Alcatraz was intense, and escaping was nearly impossible. The idea was maximum custody. The prisoners were on a strict schedule and were constantly being watched by the correctional officers. Official counts were held every 30 minutes during the day. (need source here) They were locked behind doors at all times, and the bars were tool-resistant.
Alcatraz Island was federal prison located in California’s San Francisco Bay, officially opened on July 1, 1934. It was assumed that no inmate from the prison could attempt to break out by swimming and survive. It was an ideal location for a prison. It was also the site of the oldest operating lighthouse.
Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows.
Alcatraz prison is a federal penitentiary located in San Francisco Bay on Alcatraz Island, not too far from the Golden Gate Bridge. Alcatraz is considered to be one of the most notorious penitentiaries in the United States, its history runs far and deep but so do all the legends and stories that come along with it. The prison has been home to some very notable people such as Al Capone, George Kelly, Robert Stroud and the list goes on. There are hundreds of different horror films and books out there in the world, most of which are written based off of real events or claims made by the average person. But Alcatraz doesn’t really house the average person. Claims of ghosts and demonic entities on the island have been made even before the prison
Soon after undergoing procedures they found out people where going insane and even taking their own lives. These customs of confinement where retired for a long time until about the 1920’s when they made a comeback at Alcatraz off the San Francisco Bay. The jail is known for housing some of the most notorious prisoners in the country and they wanted to keep the upper hand and not have anything go wrong. They created a whole prison block called D-Block which housed dozens of prisoners in confinement.If you were to break any rules while in confinement you would get sent to the “hole” which was worse than solitary confinement because you would not receive any clothes or any food other than bread and water. (http://www.alcatraz101.com) Robert Stroud was one one of the prisoners at Alcatraz in his lifetime he served 42 years in solitary confinement. While in another jail he was confined and found a group of birds which he housed later on in his years in jail he publish a couple books one called Diseases of Canaries. He was a very intelligent man with an IQ of 134 but while being looked up he was later diagnosed a psychopath.(Robert Stroud/wikipedia.org) Many prisoners go into solitary confinement perfectly fine and come out different due to the lack of human
Alcatraz is located off the shore of the San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was a federal prison from 1934-1963. This federal prison house some of the most dangerous and difficult felons in it’s years of operation. Before Alcatraz was a federal prison it was used as a military prison. Many believed this was the perfect place to have a prison due to the fact that no inmater would be able to successfully escape by swimming, because of the cold, rigid, shark infested waters. In 1963 the prison shut down due to the operating expenses.
Alcatraz a high security prison on an island just two miles off the edge of San Francisco there many of the United States toughest criminals, were sent there to do hard time on the rock. (Hopkinson 7-8) Alcatraz was a military prison before it was a federal penitentiary after World War 2 ended, the people of the United States wanted a super prison. Somewhere that they could send the worst criminals to rot. The prison of Alcatraz was operated from 1935-1963.There were many escape attempts but all of them failed because of the harsh guards and the treacherous waters of the San Francisco Bay. No one thought anyone could break out of the concrete walls of Alcatraz until June 11, 1962 came and Frank Morris and the Anglin Brothers decided it was time for them to get out of that hell hole.
Alcatraz was introduced as a prison in the Civil War to hold captured men. But was later taken over by the United Sates Department of Justice (U.D.J) because it was just abandoned after the war. Eventually it was turned into a prison to hold men that normal community prisons could not hold. In the 1930’s a crime wave hit the United States and Alcatraz was about to become a full house. During that time escape became a bigger problem due to the size of the prison and the lack of guards in the jail. There were over 14 escape attempts involving over 30 men. Twenty were caught and eight killed over a period of years. Alcatraz finally hired enough men to secure the jail to the highest level. 1 man by the name of Frank Morris proved that was not
Alcatraz is a well-known landmark that is shrouded in mystery. Many people think they know everything about the tough-as-nails prison when really it is just a Hollywood creation. Hollywood created the lie that "The prison if horrible and all the prisoners there are notorious villains."
The history of Alcatraz Prison is a long and interesting story. Alcatraz Prison was one of the biggest and the toughest prisons in the world and it wasn’t just any prison that would house any insignificant lawbreakers. This was the type of prison that would house people who misbehave in the other prisons. This prison had a capacity of 312 prisoners and throughout it’s years of service, it housed a total of 1,576 prisoners. The life of these prisoners were always terribly strict in its first few years of service, but then ended up a little easier as the years progressed. There have only been 14 escape attempts from Alcatraz and only two of them actually worked. Later on there were reports of several haunts in the area, which we will read nearer
The prison of Alcatraz was the highest security prison in the world because of the money and time that was spent to make it that way. Over $250,000 was spent to make the prison completely inescapable. To start out, there were over fifty prison guards that carried machine guns that are able to shoot six hundred bullets per minute ("Alcatraz Prison also a Fortress”). Everyone who has attempted to escape either never survived or could not get passed without getting caught ("Alcatraz Island”). It was very rare that someone tried to escape, and the few who did most likely did not survive one way or another ("Alcatraz”). There were fourteen attempt of escape in twenty nine years involving thirty four prisoners. One of those attempts was in 1908
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
Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows.