preview

Essay On Alcatraz

Good Essays

The Alcatraz federal prison, located on the San Francisco island of the same name, was dubbed “escape-proof” during its years of operation from 1934-1963 and was designed to hold the worst criminals in America (Timeline: Alcatraz Escape Attempts). During its 29 years, Alcatraz held most prisoners without incident, but there were still 14 escape attempts (Timeline...Attempts). June 11, 1962 marks one of the most sensationalized attempts by Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin (The Great Escape from Alcatraz). Although officials said the inmates drowned, many claim they escaped and lived as fugitives (The...Alcatraz). In order to investigate the aforementioned belief, my group defined a successful escape as getting off Alcatraz, making …show more content…

For example, a 1962 San Francisco Chronicle article “Con’s Daring Swim Kills The Myth” argued John Paul Scott’s swim “from Alcatraz Island to Fort Point destroyed...the official position that escape from the Federal Prison is impossible” (p. 1). The publication used Scott’s case to apply it to that of Morris and the Anglins, arguing that if Scott could swim across the bay and survive, then Morris and the Anglins could, too. All the information is credible because it comes from a local, primary source, The San Francisco Chronicle. However, the source is not relevant because Scott’s attempt was in December, not June like Morris and the Anglins, and this change in time would affect weather conditions between cases (The...Alcatraz). Additionally, San Francisco police apprehended Scott once he reached Fort Point, so he did not fit under our group’s definition of a successful escape (10 Things You May Not Know About Alcatraz). This lack of relevance makes the information non-applicable and outweighs its credibility because the connections between Scott’s case and Morris and the Anglins’ case are too

Get Access