Alcatraz, also known as Alcatraz
It is a small island located in San Francisco Bay, California, about 2 kilometers from downtown San Francisco. In 1933, due to the arrogance of gangster crime, the U.S. government decided to establish a federal prison on the island to house felons.
In 1934, Alcatraz became a federal prison, housing notorious criminals, escape experts, gang leaders, and troublemakers, and soon became the most famous prison in American history. Among the prisoners he has imprisoned here are Al Capone, the Chicago "godfather", Robert Stroud, a murderer with a talent for studying birds, and George Kelly, a cold-blooded "machine gun" killer.
The construction of this prison spared no effort and cost a lot of money and time. The main building of the prison is made of concrete and steel, and each cell has a heavy iron door, and the prisoners' life in the cell is extremely difficult. The walls of the prison are extremely thick and surrounded by rapids of the sea, which is extremely dangerous. Sharks swimming in the surrounding waters made the prisoners even more daunting.
The rigor of Alcatraz Prison is amazing. Each prisoner is monitored by three guards in turn, making escaping nearly impossible. There are also various guarding equipment and weapons, such as machine guns, pistols and shotguns, as well as patrol dogs. All this makes Alcatraz one of the strictest prisons in the United States, known as the "Copper Wall and Iron Wall".
Trapped on an isolated island in the sea, Alcatraz prisoners repeat their monotonous and dreary daily routines — waking up early, washing, cleaning, exercising, and performing tasks. They are forced to provide prisons with various labor services, such as painting walls and cleaning pipes, for a negligible fee. It is said that inmates in U.S. prisons now earn no more than 40 cents a day, with a minimum of only 12 cents2, far below the federal legal minimum wage of $7.25.
And those prisoners who cause trouble are even more punished by solitary confinement. The confinement room was pitch black, without any light or sound, only cockroach mice accompanying them through endless loneliness and fear. All they could see was the beautiful and distant Golden Gate Bridge, the Oakland Bridge and downtown San Francisco34 outside the barred window. These views are both a temptation and a torture for them. They yearn for freedom, but they are powerless to escape this hellish cage.
Alcatraz inmates face food shortages and malnutrition. Because U.S. prison budgets can't keep up with the skyrocketing number of inmates, the quality and quantity of food can only be cut back in prisons. Prisoners went from three hot meals a day to two cold meals and one cold meal, and only two meals on weekends. This practice is known as "punitive frugality." Some prisoners even said they had to save up three meals a day to eat.
In this environment, instant noodles became the prisoners' most prized currency, which could be exchanged for other goods or services. "Cigarettes" are no longer hard currency.
Alcatraz Prison is known for its high security. In its 28 years of existence, there have been 14 escapes, involving 36 prisoners. Of these, 23 were recaptured, 6 killed, 2 drowned and 5 missing. Officials believe the five are also dead.
However, on the night of June 11, 1962, three inmates did something unprecedented - they managed to escape Alcatraz prison.
The three men were John Anglin (1485), Clarence Anglin (1476), and Frank Lee Morris (1141), who technically had four members of the breakaway gang, and a mechanical expert, Alan West (1335), but he had to be stranded on Alcatraz due to a mistake in the execution of the plan.
And the details of this prison break that caused a sensation in the United States were also provided by West, who was one of the participants in the whole thing.
Three people who escaped from prison
Details of the jailbreak
The Anglin brothers were imprisoned in an Atlanta prison for armed bank robbery, and as early as the Atlanta prison, the two tried to escape from prison many times, and because of their repeated teachings, the two were transferred to the heavily guarded Alcatraz prison in 1960. The brothers did not stay idle here and came up with a general plan for escaping from the prison, but the escape from Alcatraz Prison was too difficult, and they needed more helpers. They soon found Frank Lee Morris, a clever man who made a name for himself in prison.
Morris was intrigued by their plans and confident that they would succeed. They also recruited Alan West, a mechanically skilled prisoner who could provide them with some of the necessary tools and equipment.
But to implement the plan, they first had to solve a difficult problem: how to get four people to live in adjacent cells. Alcatraz Prison has three floors, each with two rows of cells and fifteen cells in each row. Each cell has a small window and a ventilation duct. They intend to escape through ventilation ducts, so they must choose cells close to the duct exits and be connected.
Luckily, Clarence Anglin had a brilliant idea. He persuaded the guards that he and the other three were good friends and would be more secure if they could live together. Although the guards found this request strange, they did not think much of it. After all, on Alcatraz Island, no one can escape. So, at the end of December 1961, all four were placed in the last four cells in the B row of Building B.
With that, the plan can begin. The four began to collect various tools that could be used to dig ventilation ducts, such as spoons, scissors, nail clippers, etc., and then the four spent months digging through their cells and making newspapers and cardboard to shield the ventilation ducts, but because the digging was too inefficient, West also used his mechanical talent to modify a drill on the vacuum cleaner and use batteries to power it.
Tools used to dig walls
Prison room
This process is very dangerous because the noise emitted by the drilling machine can easily attract the attention of the guards. But they have a brilliant solution: using music to mask sound.
Alcatraz Prison has a special rule that every evening, inmates are free to play musical instruments in their cells. This is the only time they can enjoy a little bit of cultural life. So, at this time, four people began to act. They put the drill under the bed and covered it with a quilt and clothes. They took turns operating the drilling machine, while also bringing out their own instruments to play with the other inmates. Guitars, violins, accordions and other instruments mix into a raucous sound, and against this background, the sound of the drilling machine is less obvious.
With the unremitting efforts of four people every day, they finally completed the task of digging the hole more than ten days later. The hole is large enough for an adult man to pass through. And the hole is exactly aligned with the ventilation duct, which is an important part of the entire prison building.
They also found a hidden space behind each cell. This space is about 0.9 meters wide and is used to store some debris and scrap. The four decide to use the space as their secret base to discuss their next escape plans.
In addition to digging through the ventilation ducts, the four faced another problem: how to avoid being discovered by guards at night. Alcatraz has a strict patrol system, and every once in a while, a guard walks through each cell and illuminates the faces of inmates with flashlights to confirm that they are sleeping. If there is any abnormality, it will immediately raise an alarm.
In response to the situation, the four decided to make dummy heads in their place. They collected various materials from various places, such as soap, toilet paper, glue, pigments and so on. They mashed soap and toilet paper and glued them into a sphere. They then paint the spheres with skin color and facial features, and use scissors to cut out the shapes of the eyes and mouth. Finally, they also stole some real human hair from the barbershop and pasted it on the sphere to make it more realistic.
Dummy heads
In addition to dummy heads, they have to make their beds look like someone is sleeping. They stuffed their unworn clothes and discarded newspapers into the quilt and covered the bed. In this way, it looks like there is a person lying there in the dark.
After months of hard work and preparation, the four people finally completed all the preparations. They just wait for the right moment to carry out the final step: escape Alcatraz.
However, while carrying out the plan, they encountered an accident. The four of them were supposed to escape together, but West did not complete the hole in his cell in time. When the other three had already drilled into the ventilation duct, West found that he could not pass through the narrow opening. He tried to pull out the iron fence with force, but was unsuccessful. He could only watch as the other three left him. He knew that this prison break was hopeless for him.
John, Clarence and Morris climbed along the ventilation duct to the top of the prison, according to the original plan,
At this moment, a small incident almost ruined the whole plan. While moving quickly, Clarence accidentally knocked over a piece of iron and fell onto the ventilation duct. The collision of the iron sheet with the metal pipe made a loud noise, which was particularly harsh in the silent night. All three were stunned and quickly hid in the shadows and waited.
Fortunately, when this incident happened around half past ten that night, it did not attract anyone's attention. It may be because there are often all kinds of strange and terrible sounds in the prison, or because it is foggy, or because the prison guards on duty are too lax. In conclusion, nothing unusual happened in the next few hours.
Schematic diagram of the jailbreak
The trio climbed out of the ventilation duct and went down to the ground with ropes made of raincoats. They then ran to the northernmost beach on the island and took out the hidden rubber boats and life jackets.
They built a kayak out of a raincoat, and the plan itself was incredible. But even more surprising is that these raincoats are not ordinary raincoats, but rubber raincoats stolen from an abandoned warehouse in prison. They glued at least fifty raincoats together with superglue, and then used hot steam leaking from a steam pipe to melt the seams together.
They also made life jackets and paddles, all pieced together from accordions and other sundries. The accordion was also transformed into a tool for inflating kayaks and life jackets.
Late at night on June 11, 1962, they took advantage of the darkness and tide to push the kayak to the surface of the sea, jump on it and start paddling. They hope to reach the Free Land across the Bay of San Francisco.
Meanwhile, in prison, another accomplice, West, finally opened the hole in the wall of his cell and climbed along the ventilation duct to the beach. But when he got there, he found himself one step late. The Anglin brothers and Morris had left Alcatraz in a kayak and left nothing behind that would help him escape.
West looked around, but couldn't see any lights or ships. Alcatraz has no lighthouse or other lighting, leaving the sea dark. West was unable to find another kayak prepared for him by the Anglin brothers, nor could he venture swimming through the cold and dangerous waters.
Discouraged, he returned to prison and re-entered his lonely and desperate cell.
Crime
The early morning sun shone into every corner of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, and the patrolmen began their routine check-ups. One by one, they walked through the cells, calling the prisoners to get up in a hoarse voice. When they arrived at Morris's cell, they heard no answer. The patrolman knocked on the iron door, but there was still no response. Sensing that something was wrong, he unlocked the door and walked into the cell. He walked over to the bed, wanting to lift the quilt to see what was wrong with Morris. However, the moment he touched the quilt, he jumped up like an electric shock and let out a terrified scream - under the quilt, it was not Morris's body, but a pile of old newspapers and discarded clothes, and a human head mask made of soap, hair and pulp!
The patrolman immediately reported the startling discovery to his superiors and caused a commotion throughout the prison. Soon, two other Anglin brothers who conspired with Morris to escape from prison were also found to have escaped. The prison director ordered the immediate blockade of all exits and dispatched a large number of police and search teams to hunt down the three fugitives. They scoured Alcatraz and found three hollowed-out ventilation ducts on the beach, as well as a kayak made from a raincoat. But beyond that, there are no other clues.
Over the next few days, the police mobilized all available resources to find the three fugitives and conduct an all-round search around Alcatraz, land and sea. But no trace could be found anyway. Even the FBI joined the search operation, but to no avail. Finally, on June 21, police found the wreckage of the kayak on Angel Island, a few kilometers from Alcatraz, along with some improvised life jackets and soaked clothing.
Based on the clues left at the scene, the investigators speculated about their possible escape route. First, they dug a hole in their cell leading to ventilation ducts and made dummy heads out of pulp and paint to put on beds to muddle through. They then climbed along ventilation ducts to the prison roof and made ropes and kayaks out of raincoats. Then they slipped off the roof and took advantage of the night and sea breeze to paddle to the opposite bank. They managed to avoid the discovery of the sea lighthouse and patrol boats and reached Angel Island. There, however, they disappeared without a trace.
Police recovered some leftover items on Angel Island, but they found no evidence that any of the three were alive or dead. Police conducted a large-scale search around Alcatraz and Angel Island, but never came to any avail. Officials eventually announced that the three had died while on the run and filed the case. But over the next decade, the FBI continued to closely monitor the families and friends of the trio, hoping to find a clue. However, during this period, no valuable information appeared.
postscript
The mother of the Anglin brothers has always been alive with her sons. Whenever a holiday or her birthday comes, she always receives an unsigned greeting card and a bouquet of flowers. She believes it was secretly sent to her by her sons to express their thoughts and gratitude for her.
John Anglin and other relatives of Grealence Anglin have had similar experiences. In 2015, John Angllin's nephew received a letter claiming to be from "Uncle John." The letter said that "Uncle John" now runs a farm in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and lives a rich and happy life, so that his family should not worry about him.
At the funeral held shortly after the death of the Anglin brothers' mother, the FBI unexpectedly spotted two suspicious figures: two tall and muscular women in black coats, sunglasses, heavy makeup, and nervously watching from a distance. When the FBI wanted to come forward and inquire, the two women had already left in a hurry.
Then, after a documentary about the Alcatraz escape aired in 2015, more shocking evidence surfaced: a vague but forensically confirmed by the Angelin brothers himself to be taken on a Brazilian farm; and Robert Anglin (another of their older brothers) who confessed on his deathbed that he lived in hiding somewhere in South America after a long and successful escape, and regularly sent money and letters to his family.
This evidence has given the public new curiosity and suspicion about the Alcatraz escape: What is the real whereabouts of the three escapees? Did they really escape Alcatraz? If they did escape, how did they do it?
Some people think that they have been safely hiding in a corner, enjoying a life of freedom. But others suspect they didn't leave the bay alive because their kayaks made of rubber raincoats were too sturdy and the waters were so fast that sharks waited for the opportunity. They may have sunk to the bottom of the sea and become food for fish and shrimp.
In order to explore this puzzle, an American popular science program "MythBusters" once conducted an experiment. They made a kayak using the same materials as the escapees and set off from Alcatraz Island at night in an attempt to reach Angel Island. The results showed that with the unremitting efforts of the two hosts, Adam and Jamie, the kayak managed to reach the shore near the Golden Gate Bridge, although it was almost overturned by the waves. The show concludes that it is indeed possible for the escapees to escape.
Of course, not everyone accepts this conclusion. Police have revealed that John Anglin and Glarence Anglin are master swimmers, so they have a certain chance of survival. But the third escape, Frank Morris, could not swim and would probably drown if the kayak broke down or was attacked.
In conclusion, in the absence of conclusive evidence, whether the three escapees managed to escape remains an open question. Maybe only they themselves know the answer.
In 1963, the federal government abandoned the island because the prison's operating costs were too high, but Alcatraz's reputation was widespread. It was later uninhabited.
Easter egg 1
There is a shop on Alcatraz that is filled with all kinds of books and souvenirs about the island. Some of them were memoirs written by prisoners who were once imprisoned here, who described in harrowing terms the days they spent on Alcatraz, calling it a "painful experience that will never be forgotten."
In the corner of the store, sat an old man named Darwin Kuhn. He was one of the last prisoners released on Alcatraz. He was jailed for robbing a bank as a young man and spent ten years on Alcatraz. Now in his seventies, he chose to return to the place that once made him desperate and published his biography, "Alcatraz: the True End of the Line." He signs books for readers in bookstores, sharing his story of moving from darkness to light.
In addition to the prisoners' stories, there is another special book in the store: "Alcatraz Cookbook". The book was written by the families of the officers who guarded Alcatraz Federal Prison. They and their husbands and children live in residential areas not far from prison, isolated from the outside world and boring. In order to provide more diverse food for their families, they even set up a vegetable garden on the island and grow their own vegetables. Now, they've put together the recipes so visitors can taste Alcatraz as well.
Easter Egg 2
The 1962 prison escape case caused a great sensation at the time, and Alcatraz Island was also favored by the film and television industry. Among the films released that year was "Birdman of Alcatraz," which describes how a life-and-prison prisoner rehabilitated himself into an internationally renowned bird researcher.
In 1979, "Escape from Alcatraz" starring Clint Eastwood on behalf of Clint Eastwood perfectly reproduced the prison escape process of three geniuses in 1962 and became a pioneer of prison break film and television works.
"The Shawshank Redemption" and the "Azkaban" in the Harry Potter film series borrow more or less from the story of this film.
In 1996, Michael Bay directed by Michael Bay, Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, Ed Harris and many other superstars starring "Brave the Island", the main filming location is Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. The film is recognized by the world as one of the peak action movies of the 90s of the 20th century, and the global popularity of Alcatraz has been greatly enhanced. The English name of the film is the English name of the island, commonly known as "The Rock"