Alcatraz Prison
The history of the famous Alcatraz prison
Alcatraz Prison is located on Alcatraz Island, a federal prison in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay, California, home to some of the most dangerous American criminals during its years from 1934 to 1963, and these prisoners were among those who spent time in the maximum security facility, and could not escape any prisoner from the rock successfully if he tried to escape, despite more than a dozen known attempts made over the years
After the prison was closed due to high operating costs, the island was occupied for nearly two years from 1969 by a group of Native American activists, and today, alcatraz island is historic, and was also the site of a U.S. military prison from the late 1850s to 1933, and a popular tourist destination
The first years of Alcatraz as a military prison
In 1775, the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala (1745−97) painted the rugged island of Alcatraz and named it the island of La Alcatraz, or Swan Island, because of a large number of seabirds, and seventy-five years later, in 11 850, President Millard Fillmore signed a restraining order on the island for military use, and during the 1850s, a castle was built on Alcatraz and about 100 cannons were installed throughout the island to protect The Bay of San Francisco, during which time Alcatraz became home to the first lighthouse on the West Coast.
By the late 1850s, the U.S. military began detaining military prisoners in Alcatraz, isolated the cold and strong waters of San Francisco Bay, which was considered an ideal location for the prison, and any Alcatraz prisoner was supposed to try to escape by swimming and survival.
Alcatraz prison also included a number of rebellious American Indians, including 19 Hobby from Arizona who were sent to prison in 1895 following land disputes with the federal government, and the number of prisoners in Alcatraz prison continued to rise during the Spanish-American War (1898).
During the early 20th century, the recruitment of prisoners fuelled the construction of a new cell (the structure of 600 cells still standing today) in Alcatraz, along with a hospital, hall and other prison buildings, and according to the National Park Service, when this new complex was completed in 1912, it was the largest concrete building in the world.
Alcatraz Federal Prison, 1934-1963
In 1933, the Military abandoned Alcatraz to the U.S. Department of Justice, which wanted a federal prison that could house criminals that could be difficult or dangerous to be dealt with by other U.S. prisons, and after construction to make the current compound in Alcatraz safer, the existing safety facility was officially opened on July 1, 1934, and Chief Secretary James Johnston used one guard for every three prisoners. Every prisoner had his own cell.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons viewed Alcatraz as a "prison", a place where the most troubled prisoners could be sent to live in isolated circumstances with few privileges in order to know how to follow the rules (at this stage, they could be transferred to other federal prisons to complete their sentences), and Alcatraz would usually be imprisoned between 260 and 275 prisoners. , which represents less than 1% of all federal prisoners
The most famous prisoners in Alcatraz prison
Among those who spent time in Alcatraz prison were gangs known as "Scarface", Capone, a banned man who spent four and a half years there in the 1930s, and Capone was sent to Alcatraz prison because he was imprisoned In Atlanta, Georgia, he was allowed to stay in touch with the outside world and continue his criminal operation in Chicago, and was also known to corrupt prison officers, but it all ended when he was sent to Alcatraz, according to the biography of Capone and John Kobler, Capone once said One of his "It seems that Alcatraz pushed me to lie down
Also among alcatraz's most famous inmates are George Kelly (1895-1954), who spent 17 years there convicting kidnapping, and the Karpovich gangs (1907-1979), who were included in the FBI's No. 1 list in 1930. He spent more than 25 years behind bars in Alcatraz, and killer Robert Stroud, also known as "Bird Catraz," was transferred there after three decades at the Federal Prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, and Stroud arrived on the island in 1942 and stayed there for 17 years. However, despite his surname, he was not allowed to keep the birds in Alcatraz as he did during his detention at Leavenworth
Attempts to escape from Alcatraz
Over the years, there have been 14 known attempts to escape from Alcatraz, involving 36 prisoners, and according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, of these potential fugitives, 23 were arrested, six were shot dead during their escape attempts, two drowned and five were dismissed
The most famous escape attempt resulted in a battle: from May 2 to May 4, 1946, six prisoners overpowered the cell officers and obtained weapons, but not the keys to leaving the prison, and in the ensuing battle, the prisoners killed two reform officers and injured 18 others, the U.S. Marines were called in, the battle ended with the deaths of three prisoners and the trial of the other three, two of whom received the death penalty for their actions
The prison closed in 1963
The Federal Prison in Alcatraz was closed in 1963 because operating expenses were significantly higher than those of other federal facilities at the time, and the location of an island meant that the prison had to ship all food and supplies at great expense, moreover, the island's isolated buildings began to collapse due to exposure to salty sea air, and in nearly three decades of its inception, alcatraz had a total of 1,576 men.
In 1969, a group of Native Americans led by Mohawk activist Richard Oakes (1942-1972) arrived on Alcatraz Island and claimed land on behalf of all Indian tribes, and the activists hoped to establish a university and museum on the island, and Oaks left Alcatraz after the death of His daughter was there in 1970, and the rest of the occupiers, whose ranks became controversial and divided, were transferred by order of President Richard Nixon in 1971, and the island became part of the local Golden Gate Foundation in 1972 and was opened to the public a year later, and Today, Alcatraz visits about one million tourists every year
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