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... n working in the industry buildings was a privilege. Life on the rock was not always as gruesome as is commonly supposed. alcatraz would allow certain freedoms for those who respected the rules and did as they were told. These freedoms were called privileges, and for some prisoners they were their reason for living, and an escape from imprisonment and the confines of their cells. Such privileges included the right to ask for a light or heavy portion of food in the mess hall (however an inmate was required to eat everything on his plate without excuse).
Visitation rights, though carefully granted to certain inmates, would prohibit former convicts and persons who were thought to pose a threat to the operation of the island. Good behavior allowed inmates to read books and magazines of their choice from the library. A prisoner was given the right to correspond with friends and family outside the prison through letters, but even these were carefully censored and any material that was considered to be a threat to the institution was removed. Every letter was rewritten by the staff of alcatraz, and it was not uncommon that an inmates letter had never been delivered. The recreation yard was another of the privileges that a good inmate could partake of.
Morton Sell, a former inmate of Alcatraz, described the recreation yard by saying, ... You could do what you wanted to do. You could sit on the steps and talk or watch. You could walk. You could play cards. You had a choice here which you did not have back there.
Even various sporting activities were allowed in this out-of-doors atmosphere, perhaps the most disheartening fact of the recreation yard was that one could easily see the life of San Francisco less than two miles away. This constantly served as a reminder to the prisoners that freedom was so close and yet so far away. Alcatraz was best known for the rumors about its oppressive environment. Inmates, when allowed to communicate with outside world, spoke of horrors that separated it from all other prisons in America.
Inmate # 1465 (Leon whitey thompson) compared his previous prison experience with that of the Rock by saying, I spent twenty-four and a half years in the penitentiary, but my little over four years on Alcatraz was harder on me than the other twenty years in prison. To me it was not a life. it was not even existing... to me it was like time stopped... nothing meant anything anymore.
Every inmate was required to begin their day at the same time each mourning (approximately 6. 20 a. m). Throughout the day they were counted by the guards to ensure that no prisoners were absent for any reason. Twelve official counts were mandatory, but it was no surprise when numerous unofficial counts were randomly executed in addition to the regularly scheduled ones.
Scattered throughout an inmates scheduled were required strip searches or shakedowns. Also a part of escape prevention were the metal detectors, which the inmates were forced to pass through a minimum of six times a day. Another well known tactic that the guards used to fulminate their captors was to abandon their bullet pierced targets in places that the inmates could find them, and therefore realize the skill and power that they were subjected to. As years passed and alcatraz welcomed new wardens, an element of warden johnston's ideas were lost. Edwin Swope, paul J. Madigan and olin blackwell were Johnston's only successors.
They helped change Alcatraz from the famous prison of punishment and not reformation to one where prisoners could live, eat, and relax, relatively unmolested by the prison guards or tortured by the strict prison rules. It was no secret that the once rigid program followed by all the inmates was slowly becoming more and more relaxed. At one time on Alcatraz, during the Johnston reign, inmate conversations were prohibited and speaking was a punishable offense. As time progressed inmates were allowed to communicate outside of the once designated times.
Eventually, future wardens would allow inmates to create their own artistic pieces with paint that they had been given. About twenty years after the penitentiary on Alcatraz Island had been established, inmates were allowed to listen to music or radio programs played by the San Francisco radio stations. Toward the end of its operation, the once common prison cell shakedowns were discontinued by the 1960 s. Also a major change in the way Alcatraz was operated was the fact that fewer guards and fewer counts took place later in its history. the main reason for the relaxation of the prison codes was that the government funding could no longer support the rigid routine that had for so long been the distinction of Alcatraz; and budget cuts were soon imposed. The price of maintaining a maximum security facility of this caliber, and the amount of maintenance expenses that Alcatraz was constantly procuring made its daily operation a difficult endeavor.
As a result of the casual treatment of inmates, prisoners began to find ways to escape their confinement. Though, fewer guards and counts were primarily responsible for the well planned escape attempts that marred its reputation as an escape-proof environment. It was well known that the amount of money needed to keep a prisoner at Alcatraz was greater than the amount required to house the same prisoner at a different institution. This revived the question of Alcatraz's purpose in the federal system. Was it still needed?
Was the Gangster Era a thing of the past? Taxpayers did not want to pay for virtually the same treatment at a higher cost to them. In addition to everyday costs of Alcatraz, a new problem was beginning to surface. The very building that housed inmates were beginning to crumble, and according to estimates the needed repairs would cost five million dollars. How would the government be able to justify the repairs to buildings that were already too costly to maintain?
The fact is they could not. And it was for this reason that, Attorney General Robert Kennedy ordered the Rock closed. On March 21, 1963, the last meal was served to the few inmates that remained. These would be the final moments of the incarceration on Alcatraz Island. Bibliography: Bibliography Delgado, james p. Alcatraz: island of change. 1991.
Delgado, james p. Alcatraz island: the story behind the scenery. 1985 devils island. microsoft encarta 98 encyclopedia. cd-rom.
microsoft 1998 hurley, donald. alcatraz island: maximum security. 1989 hurley, donald. alcatraz island memories. 1987 other, pierre. the rock: a history of Alcatraz the fort / the prison. 1982 Quillen, jim. Alcatraz: from inside. 1991
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