Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years Part 27

Parker then went back upstairs into the jail office. With his .45 caliber pistol, he shot the lock off the door of the jail guard's office. The office was completely bullet proofed except for one little spot just behind the door's lock. Parker compelled the guard on-duty to press the b.u.t.ton, which electrically unlocked the iron barred door to the front of the jail.

Parker then fled out of the jail, through an alley behind the jail to an intersection at which traffic was regulated by stop-and-go lights. There he commandeered the private automobile of a Fort Wayne mail carrier, who had been stopped by the red light. At gunpoint Parker compelled the mail carrier to drive him out of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the direction of the Ohio state line. Parker became lost on the back roads, which they followed and ran into a roadblock. The roadblock was manned by the Chief of Police and by an Ohio State Policeman. A gun battle followed in which the life of the mail carrier was gravely endangered. Parker was shot in the hip by the Ohio State Policeman and thereby recaptured. He had been free from the Allen County Jail a total of approximately five hours. Subject was then confined to the Terra Haute Penitentiary in the hospital, and also in the Federal Medical Center at Springfield until he was well enough to appear before the court. He was sentenced to fifty years in a Federal Penitentiary for his crimes.

Daryl Lee Parker arrived at Alcatraz May 29, 1959, as inmate #AZ-1413. Even prior to his attempted escape from the island, Parker's incarceration was problematic. For example, on March 15, 1960 he was placed in the closed-front solitary confinement cell for exploding a homemade bomb, and only one month later he was caught behaving intoxicated after having ingested a specially concocted homebrew.

John Paul Scott

A mug shot series of John Paul Scott.

J. Paul Scott was born on January 3, 1927 in Willisburg, Kentucky, the second of six children in the family of Buelah and William A. Scott. His father, who served as the postmaster of Springfield, Kentucky from 1950 until his death in 1966, was an affectionate parent. He provided a good living for his family and offered all of his children a college education. His mother was also a college graduate and she never worked outside the home. From all indications, the home situation was most amicable.

In 1944 Scott graduated from Springfield High School in Springfield, Kentucky. He entered the University of Kentucky in 1950, and subsequently attended Western State Teachers College, the University of Georgia, and Georgia State University. During his attendance at these universities, he maintained an above-average academic standing and ama.s.sed a total of 170 hours of credit toward his Bachelors degree. The last school he attended was Georgia State University, during the winter quarter of 1970.

Scott enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on July 13, 1944, and entered active duty in June of 1945. He left the U.S. Air Force with an honorable discharge on December 28, 1946. He also enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program on September 24, 1949, and was honorably discharged on November 2, 1949. He experienced minor disciplinary problems while in the Air Force, but was discharged because it was discovered that he had a prison record. The highest rank he attained was that of private.

Scott's first arrest occurred in February of 1949, and he was charged with possession of stolen merchandise. During the years following, he would be arrested on various other charges including burglary and armed robbery. On the weekend of December 15, 1956, J. Paul Scott and his brother Don R. Scott forcibly entered the National Guard Armory at Danville, Kentucky with accomplice Earl Morris, and stole two .45 caliber submachine guns and three .30 caliber rifles, with a sizeable quant.i.ty of ammunition. On January 6, 1957 J. Paul Scott and the same two accomplices entered the Farmers and Traders Bank of Campton, Kentucky, armed and carrying acetylene cutting equipment. While in the bank, Scott was struck in the mouth and the arm by two bullets fired by a bank guard. Meanwhile, Morris was perched outside of a window and Don Scott was on the roof of the bank, standing guard. As the robbers fled from the bank they engaged local officers in a gun battle, which resulted in the wounding of a Wolfe County Sheriff.

Scott began serving his sentence at the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, where he received two disciplinary reports, one for attempted escape and one for a h.o.m.os.e.xual act. In March of 1959 he was transferred to Alcatraz, and there his disciplinary reports would include an escape from the island.

The Alcatraz Escape Files of Parker and Scott

The following report was written by Warden Blackwell to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons on December 20, 1962, describing the events from his perspective: Date: December 20, 1962 To: Director, Bureau of Prisons From: O.G. Blackwell, Warden Re: Escape Attempt, December 16, 1002 - John Paul SCOTT 1403-AZ and Daryl Parker 1413-AZ On Sunday, December 16, 1962, the two above inmates were missed from their detail in the Culinary unit, at 5:47 p.m. We have definitely established that both of those individuals were accounted for on the official 5:20 p.m. count and again counted by the lieutenant on duty, Mr. Harold Robbins, at 5:30 p.m.

The alarm was sounded, immediate search of the area was inst.i.tuted, and the entire escape procedure was placed into effect. At 6:10 p.m. our boat officer spotted Parker clinging to a rock some 100 yards off the northwest end of the island, known as "Little Alcatraz." At approximately 7:20 p.m. inmate SCOTT was spotted clinging to a rock off Fort Point, which is located almost directly under the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. SCOTT was spotted by two teenagers who reported to the Presidio MPs. They reported to the scene and called for a fire department rescue team, rescued SCOTT from this rock and took him immediately to the Letterman Hospital for emergency treatment. For the first thirty minutes several doctors worked with SCOTT and stated that they were very much uncertain as to whether he would live or die. He was suffering from numerous cuts and bruises and from severe shock as a result of extreme lowering of body temperature, caused by the cold water of the Bay, which normally runs from 52 to 54 degrees, the year around. PARKER, of course, was returned to the inst.i.tution, examined by the medical staff and locked up immediately after he was found. SCOTT was returned to the inst.i.tution following release from the emergency unit of the hospital by the doctors.

Of course both you and Mr. Aldredge came to the inst.i.tution and are very familiar with the incident and all of the findings. However, I might review some of the more outstanding points for the benefit of others who might read this report.

During the investigation it became obvious that the two sets of bars that were removed had been worked on over a long period of time and obviously by more people than just SCOTT. A check of the records indicates that ex-inmate BURBANK, No. 1369, now in custody by the Missouri State Penitentiary, was a.s.signed to the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt for a long period of time and could have well have started the removal of the bars. Following his a.s.signment, inmate Leonard WILLIAMS, No. 1045, was a.s.signed to the bas.e.m.e.nt area and he too could have contributed to these cuts. It is noted by the record that WILLIAMS was involved in several escape attempts, including an attempt to escape while being transported to Alcatraz.

Investigative reports suggest that inmates Charles Burbank (left) and Leonard Williams (right) may have begun cutting through the steel window bars several months before the escape, when they were a.s.signed to the kitchen detail.

We are not quite sure of all instruments used to sever these bars; however, we are rather positive that a spatula, with serrated edges; a grease sc.r.a.per, used by fry-cooks in sc.r.a.ping down grills, that had serrated edges, and string, which had been impregnated with floor wax; and inst.i.tution scouring powder were at least three items that were used to sever these bars. One set of these bars, incidentally, is commonly referred to as "tool-proof-steel."

As we see the picture, and as admitted now by SCOTT and PARKER, SCOTT almost completed severing the bars, alerted PARKER that he expected to try to escape, and invited him then to go along. On the evening of the sixteenth, immediately after the 5:30 count, under the guise of taking the garbage to the bas.e.m.e.nt, SCOTT got on the elevator, took the elevator half-way down, jumped off and completed severing the bars, which he states took approximately five minutes. He then dashed to the elevator shaft and signaled for PARKER, who jumped down the shaft, landing on the elevator halfway down, then jumped off to the floor and they both went out through the window.

This window is the last window on the south side of the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt and is partially hidden by two butane tanks that service burner units in the hospital. They eluded the officer who was patrolling back of the Kitchen by seeing that he had checked that side of the building and started in the other direction. They then hurriedly climbed two pipes at the corner of the building, gaining access to the roof. They crossed the roof and lowered themselves to the ground directly behind the Library on a length of extension cord that they had tied knots in, approximately three feet apart. This cord was removed from the buffing machine that is used to polish the bas.e.m.e.nt floor. They then slid and fell down the steep hill directly behind Apartment Building "A." During this fall PARKER apparently broke his foot and received several cuts and bruises. They then went down the rather high bluff to the water's edge by sliding down a sewer pipe. At this point they inflated rubber gloves that they had inserted in s.h.i.+rtsleeves, and pieces of s.h.i.+rt that had been crudely st.i.tched together, making a set of so called "water-wings" to be used as flotation equipment.

The cutaway bar section of the south-end window at the east end of the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt, through which inmates Parker and Scott made their escape.

An exterior view of the window that was used by inmates in their attempted escape.

An extension cord used in the escape, removed from a floor buffer that was used to polish the bas.e.m.e.nt floor.

It was dark and rainy. Visibility was extremely poor. PARKER stated that SCOTT moved out first and he followed after checking his flotation equipment and immediately lost SCOTT, but thought he saw him. As it turned out, it was a bucket floating in the bay. He fought the tides as hard as he could but could make no headway and it washed him back in to the rock known as "Little Alcatraz," and he hung on to this rock until found by our boat. He received further cuts and bruises attempting to stay on the rock. SCOTT claims that he almost drowned when he hit the rock at Fort Point because the waves were coming over his head, and he could not find any protection on this rock at all.

This is the actual label from the scouring power that was combined with floor wax and soaked into string, then used as an abrasive to cut through a steel bar over a long period of time.

Surgical rubber gloves were inflated and sewn into a heavy mat that was successfully used as a flotation device.

In searching the bas.e.m.e.nt area several times, we found items which included the impregnated string, and a twelve-inch crescent wrench that had been missed over two years ago from the old Furniture Factory and apparently had been secreted in the Kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt behind one or the huge refrigerators. The rubber gloves obviously had been stolen from the hospital unit and SCOTT claims they had been there for a long time. The crescent wrench was used to twist out the last section of the outside detention sash, which was extremely eroded from the elements and of course, was never designed to be first-rate security material.

As attached reports will indicate, searches of the bas.e.m.e.nt area had been ordered and apparently completed. The bars had been tapped by officers on both Sat.u.r.day and Sunday, the day of the escape. At first glance it seemed strongly indicated that disciplinary action should be inst.i.tuted against those who were ordered to knock the bars in this unit. However, after careful examination of all of the facts it became highly conceivable, from a technical or mechanical standpoint, that the officers hammering these bars with rubber hammers could very well have struck them a heavy blow (and they insist they did) without noticing any particular difference from any other bar. It is obvious, of course, that their visual inspection was not effective. However, since the cuts were on the back side of the main bar, and the duty of hammering bars is rather monotonous, it is highly possible that they could have overlooked the carefully concealed cut, thinking that they were doing a good job. With all of this in mind, and after careful consideration of all of the facts by the Captain, a.s.sociate Warden, Mr. Aldredge, and myself, at this point we do not feel that disciplinary action against the officers is indicated.

To further explain the reasoning, the top of the upright bar was not cut, but was eventually removed by SCOTT through the use of a three by two foot piece of oak, and it required considerable leverage to break loose the welds at that end. SCOTT claims that enough of the lower section of the bar was left solid that it took him five minutes to remove it, which would have fastened that end, making both ends rather solid and quite capable of receiving a heavy blow with a rubber hammer without showing any appreciable movement.

In reviewing our obvious weaknesses and in endeavoring to correct as many weaknesses as possible, we have inst.i.tuted the following: (1) We welded in bar material to replace that which had been removed. We then fabricated an additional set of stainless steel bars and secured them on the outside window, which now makes three sets of detention material that must be gone through to escape from this unit.

(2) We have completely secured with expanded metal the entrance to the elevator at the Kitchen level. This will be kept locked at all times unless actually in use, and then under direct supervision.

(3) Under existing operations the officer furnis.h.i.+ng coverage for the back of the Kitchen was patrolling from side to side on the cat-walk around the yard wall in order to check both sides and the end of the Kitchen area. We have now stationed one man on the northeast corner of the cat-walk, which will permit him to constantly observe the east side of the Kitchen and the north end at any time inmates are out of the cellhouse, and in any part of the Kitchen area. We have stationed another officer on the yard wall that can observe the west side of the kitchen and dining roof unit as well as a.s.sist in viewing the north end.

(4) We have issued a specific order that no inmate, or inmates, will he permitted in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the Culinary unit unless under direct and constant supervision, and any time an employee takes inmates to that unit he must advise the Control Center first, indicating who he is taking. He must call the Control Center each fifteen minutes and must advise the Control Center as soon as he departs and secures the Kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt area. This is, of course, to prevent an employee from being overpowered or otherwise incapacitated without someone being aware of it.

(5) We have issued an order that in order to protect all employees' families, in the event of escape, the gates on the Parade Ground near "B" Building will be secured during the hours of darkness and more specifically, from 5:40 p.m. until 8:10 a.m.

(6) All lieutenants have been instructed to issue specific and detailed instructions to any officer or group of officers that are designated to make searches or to check bar facilities, and then to make periodic checks to insure that they are being carried out as intended.

(7) Since we are in the process of phasing-out and have some thirteen custodial vacancies, at present we are not following our normal annual leave schedule, and are urging that those employees who do not need annual leave on an emergency basis cancel out any leave that may have been scheduled. We are not, of course, refusing leave to people who have already made specific plans or have sound reasoning for taking leave. With this arrangement we feel that additional coverage can be satisfactorily carried out without an enormous amount of overtime being paid.

Copies of reports of all employees concerned with this incident are attached, and a complete set of pictures of all specific items of interest are also attached. Copies are furnished for the inmate Bureau files and the inst.i.tution inmate files. The FBI investigated this incident and reported their findings to the U. S. Attorney, who in turn presented the cases to the Grand Jury, who in turn indicted both inmates. It is expected they will be prosecuted for the escape in the early part of next year. Any further items that may develop in connection with this case will be reported promptly.

O.G. BLACKWELL.

Warden Warden Blackwell sent individual reports on the two escaped inmates to the Bureau of Prisons. The following is his memorandum on J. Paul Scott, dated December 17, 1962: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT of JUSTICE BUREAU OF PRISONS.

UNITED STATES PENITENTARY.

ALCATRAZ CALIFORNIA.

December 17, 1962 MEMORANDUM FOR FILE.

Re: Statement or Inmate JOHN PAUL SCOTT #1403-AZ At approximately 11:00 p.m. Sunday, December 16, 1962 inmate SCOTT was returned from the emergency section of Letterman General Hospital by a.s.sociate Warden Williard and Business Manager Bones, and brought to the Warden's office for questioning.

During the questioning SCOTT talked fairly freely and made several pertinent statements. In sequence he claims that over a period of time, which he refused to define, he impregnated string with floor wax and scouring powder and used this to cut the bars in the south-end window on the east side of the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt. He further claims that he had the bars partially cut and filled in with soap and painted over so officers would not detect it, and on both Sat.u.r.day, December 15th and Sunday, December 16th, the officers were tapping bars and broke the spreader bar cut loose to the extent that he attempted to glue it back to prevent further detection. He claims that on the spur of the moment he decided he had better "go" before the cutting of the bars was detected, and asked PARKER if he would like to go with him. PARKER agreed and he (Scott) finished making the small cuts necessary on the bars, signaled to PARKER, and PARKER came down the elevator shaft and they went out the opening in the window.

He then claims they climbed some drain pipes in the corner to prevent an officer in the tower from seeing them; gained access to the roof; and lowered themselves to the ground on the opposite side of the building and behind the library by use of a knotted electric cord he had removed from the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt waxing machine. This particular descent was made, again, to prevent the tower officer from seeing them.

He then claims that he and PARKER went down the steep hill where PARKER fell and bruised himself considerable; they emerged near the north end of "A" Building, then slid down a steep cliff by holding on to a sewer pipe where they reached the water. At this point they inflated their floatation equipment, which consisted or two or three rubber gloves blown up and tied inside a piece of inmate s.h.i.+rt material that was crudely st.i.tched together, this then being tied around their body. They then entered the water and for only a short time did he observe PARKER, and did not know what happened to him after that.

He claims that he spotted lights on the mainland; attempted to swim towards them and the tide carried him by; he then selected another light and repeated the performance, and this continued until he was washed on to a rock out near the Golden Gate Bridge. The tide was so swift and waves so high at this point that he claims to have almost drowned and could not maneuver around on the rock to keep the waves from covering him closing off his breath. It was at this point that he was rescued by members of the Fire Department at the Presidio of San Francisco and taken into custody by the Military Police at the Presidio. He was taken to the emergency hospital for treatment, but claims he does not recall the a.s.sociate Warden entering the room, and fails to remember several other things for a short period of time.

The inmates slid down this sewage drain pipe to make their escape into the icy Bay waters.

Under the cover of night, rain, and heavy fog, John Paul Scott washed up at Fort Point near the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, exhausted and groggy from the freezing water.

Over and above this, he stated he had heard in the yard for some months that there was a hole in the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt. He inferred but would not flatly state that some other inmate had partially cut through this window a long time ago. He indicated that the outside section of the window was partially cut by the use of a spatula that had notched edges. He added that the spatula and sc.r.a.per used for this had been disposed of by putting them down the old butcher shop drain, and it should be noted that several days ago a spatula and sc.r.a.per fitting that description was actually removed from that drain, and it was deteriorated to the extent to indicate that it had been there for several months.

He further claimed that the rubber gloves used for floatation purposes had been in the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt hidden behind one of the refrigerators for a long-long time. He would not establish a definite or approximate date. He claimed that he had made up five or six strings immersed in floor wax and thoroughly coated with scouring powder, and left them in his trousers that were hanging in the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt. These trousers were found but no such string could be located.

The two sections of bars had been removed and concealed underneath the large refrigerator to prevent early detection. He continually insisted that the so-called tool-proof stool bars were severed by this homemade abrasive string, and inferred that it had not taken very long to complete the job. The actual cuts on the bars had circular grooves and were highly polished and fresh, indicating that his described method was highly plausible. He offered as an excuse for his escaping that he had a long sentence and had no desire whatever to return to his detainer.

O.G. BLACKWELL.

Warden The following is Warden Blackwell's report to the Bureau of Prisons on Daryl Parker, also dated December 17, 1962: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT of JUSTICE BUREAU OF PRISONS.

UNITED STATES PENITENTARY.

ALCATRAZ CALIFORNIA.

December 17, 1962 MEMORANDUM FOR FILE.

Re: Statement of Inmate Daryl Lee Parker, #1314-AZ At approximately 6:30 p.m. Sunday, December 16, 1962, inmate PARKER was returned from escape status and brought to the a.s.sociate Warden's office. During questioning he was very reluctant to make any statements, however, eventually he did say that he and inmate J. PAUL SCOTT, #1403-AZ, left the main dining hall shortly after the 5:20 p.m. count, gained access to the bas.e.m.e.nt by way of the elevator, and escaped through the end window on the east side of the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt after having removed two sections of the bars. From this point, he claims that he climbed up the drainpipe and gained access to the roof, crossed over and went down the other side by means of an electric extension cord, then proceeded to the water and entered. From this point on he does not know what happened to SCOTT, or how he reached "Little Alcatraz."

Following this, he refused to make any further statements.

O.G. BLACKWELL.

Warden An inventory list submitted by Officer Irvin Levinson, representing contraband items that were found in the kitchen bas.e.m.e.nt following the escape of Parker and Scott.

By all accounts, Scott very nearly died in his quest to reach the sh.o.r.e. Open-water swimmer Lisa Johnson would later state that Scott really couldn't take credit for "swimming to sh.o.r.e, " but that actually he "was carried" by the three-knot-per-hour tide. Even Scott himself admitted that he hadn't antic.i.p.ated how violent the ocean currents could be. In fact, they were so powerful that Scott was washed onto the rock at Fort Point and lay naked except for his socks, after his clothing had been ripped from his body by repeated banging against the rocks. When Scott was revived at Letterman, he was shaking so convulsively that he could not speak. His body temperature had dropped to 94 degrees, or 4.6 degrees below normal. He was lucky to have been spotted in his near-death state. John Paul Scott's spectacular but futile swim from Alcatraz Island to Fort Point destroyed once and for all the official position that escape from this Federal prison was impossible. As the press snapped photos of Scott wrapped warmly in knit army blankets when he was being taken from Letterman at 10:45 p.m. for his cruise back to Alcatraz, he gave them a coy smile. He had come the closest of any escape artist yet to breaking the Rock.

Scott sustained several cuts and bruises from the sharp rocks when he washed up at Fort Point.

Both inmates would be transferred from Alcatraz following its closure in 1963, and Parker would make another unsuccessful escape attempt in March of 1967, while imprisoned at Atlanta. He built a makes.h.i.+ft ladder nearly thirty feet in length, but his attempt ended when a tower officer opened fire on him, forcing him back down. Parker was later paroled on August 20, 1974.

Scott would also continue to build his resume of crime. In May of 1963 he was transferred back to Atlanta, where he was again found with contraband materials for an escape. His record states that he worked in the hospital as an X-Ray Technician, and was finally paroled on July 10, 1968.

Scott got married for a second time on January 20, 1970 in East Point Georgia, to Margie Morgan, a middle-aged widow. A later arrest report would indicate that Scott resided with his wife "in a very comfortable, s.p.a.cious, ranch-style home. " The report went on to say, "he himself built this home and has resided there since 1970. Estimated value is over $50,000 dollars." It was also doc.u.mented that he owned four other homes, but had placed them in his wife's name. Scott also re-enrolled at Georgia State University for a short period. He later took a job as a lab technician at Clayton General Hospital in Riverdale, Georgia, and was described as a model employee. He then started his own business, and built and sold several homes. But despite his successful integration back into society, his skeletons still haunted him.

Scott's driver's license, issued during a short stint of freedom in 1974.

The following is a case report filed by the U.S. Attorney following another bank robbery in which Scott partic.i.p.ated: Details of the Offense reveal that at approximately 3:18 p.m. on September 5, 1975, Ronald Coleman Anderson, J. Paul Scott and Leon Johnson entered the Hearon Circle Branch of the Spartanburg Bank & Trust Company located on the Asheville Highway, Spartanburg, S.C. All three were dressed in coveralls, dark ski masks and brown jersey gloves. All were carrying pillowcases. Anderson was armed with an AR-l6 rifle, Scott was armed with a Model 10 shotgun, and Johnson was armed with a .22 handgun. During the course of the robbery, two deputies of the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office appeared at the drive-in window in a marked car, and were observed by the bank robbers. The robbers fled the bank, and shooting ensued outside the bank between the robbers and one of the deputies, with no injuries being sustained to either of the deputies, the robbers, or either of their vehicles. A chase ensued which culminated in the parking lot of a construction company located approximately one mile from the bank. As the car containing the deputies rounded the corner into the parking lot, the bank robbers fired on them, rendering the sheriff's car inoperable and slightly wounding one of the deputies in the rear of the neck. The getaway vehicle utilized by the robbers was determined stolen the previous night from a motel parking lot in Greenville, S.C. Witnesses at the switch site believe the bank robbers drove from the construction company parking lot in a two-tone blue Ford Granada, Mercury Monarch, or late model Monte Carlo.

Scott was again arrested in June of 1976 with Morris Lynn Johnson, one of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives, in eastern New Orleans. In the following report, Scott described his plight in his own words, and recounted the story of yet another attempted escape: In February of 1977, I received a 25-year sentence for Bank Robbery in Columbia, South Carolina. I was first confined at the USP Atlanta, Georgia, however, on March 15, 1977, I was notified that I was being transferred to the USP, Leavenworth, Kansas. I was to be transported on a Federal Bureau of Prison bus.

I was confined in a Jackson, Miss. County Jail during the night of Friday, March 18, 1977. Another inmate gave me a full-length hacksaw blade. On Sat.u.r.day, March 19, 1977, I smuggled the hacksaw blade on the prison bus. There were about 25 other inmates on the prison bus. I was handcuffed and had leg irons on. I sat by myself in the right hand side near the middle of the bus. I had made up my mind that I would try and escape, since on Friday I had also obtained a paperclip and a ballpoint pen cartridge.

During the morning ride thru Louisiana I was able to pick the lock on first my handcuffs and then my leg irons. It took me about one hour to cut through the bar on the bus window. I had ripped a piece of my s.h.i.+rt and used it to get a good grip on the hacksaw blade. No one knew what I was doing until I had finished cutting the bar and had kicked out the window. No other inmates helped me in any way.

I was able to kick out the window and escape thru the hole I had cut in the window bar. The bus came to a stop but I still fell when I escaped thru the window. I ran approximately 100 feet from the bus, but stopped when the bus guards started shooting at me. They must have fired about five or six times, however, I was not hit. I was placed back in the bus, and they radioed ahead to FCI about my escape and capture.

Scott remained a violent and incorrigible inmate until his death at the Federal Correctional Inst.i.tution in Tallaha.s.see, Florida on February 22, 1987. His bold escape from Alcatraz with Daryl Parker remains as one of the most notable incidents ever to occur in the history of the island prison.

An excerpt from Parker's inmate record in 1982, showing that he still maintained his pa.s.sionate desire to escape from prison.

The Fall of an Icon

Perhaps one of the greatest ironies of Alcatraz was that the frigid and treacherous waters of the San Francis...o...b..y, which had proved to be the ultimate deterrent to escape for nearly three decades, finally contributed to the downfall of America's super-prison. Immediately following the escape of Morris and the Anglins, the prison fell under intense scrutiny due to its deteriorating structural condition and the diminis.h.i.+ng security measures that resulted from governmental budget cuts. These developments should not be credited to the escape, as many of the decisions were already in process before the attempt was made. In a January 1963 structural report, the following conditions were described: In August of 1961, a state-of-the-art Control Center was built in the Armory to enhance prison security.

The cellblocks which are located over the bas.e.m.e.nt areas are considered unsafe for occupancy during a severe earthquake. For minor earthquakes and normal loadings the supporting structures are considered safe at this time, although further deterioration will result in an unsafe condition. The present structural condition of the bas.e.m.e.nt does not conform to the 1961 Uniform Building Code.... The present structural damage in the bas.e.m.e.nt area is of continuing nature, which structural members deteriorated to a point where they will soon be inadequate to support the cellblock structures under normal loading conditions.

Criminologists were also starting to publicly cast doubt on the effectiveness of Alcatraz as a deterrent for organized crime. The corrosive effects of the salt.w.a.ter and the exorbitant cost of running the prison (Cost per inmate had risen to over $13.00 per day, as compared with $3.88 at USP Atlanta, not including an estimated five million dollars in expenses for restoration) provided U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy with grounds for closure.

An aerial view of Alcatraz before its closure in 1963.

Several photographs from 1962, showing the severe deterioration of the concrete structure.

The base of the north wall of the utility corridor inside the main cellhouse. Senior Officer James Lewis is seen indicating the gaps that had appeared in the crumbling cement, due to years of environmental corrosion.

In the autumn months of 1962, the Federal Bureau of Prisons started to transfer inmates to other inst.i.tutions, and prepared to shut down the facility. Bureau Director James Bennett wrote: During the 1960's, financial considerations determined the issue and freed me from my dilemma. Alcatraz's buildings and steel towers were gradually being eroded by the salt spray, and would cost several million dollars to restore. The cost of supplying the island prison was exorbitant since food and water had to be brought across the bay. Alcatraz was also expensive to run, because it was located far from the continental center of population, far from most of the other prisons, and men had to be transported long distances from and back to the East and Middle West.

The daily per-prisoner operating costs at Alcatraz were far higher than at any other federal inst.i.tution. So we drew up plans for a new maximum security prison to be built in the heart of the continent at Marion, Illinois, which could be built and operated at a lower cost. When the federal funds were made available for the new prison, we could close Alcatraz down On March 21, 1963, the final day of operation for Alcatraz, Warden Blackwell invited a press pool to witness the last small group of inmates leaving the Rock. On that day, twenty-seven inmates filed into the Mess Hall for the last time, and lined up at the steam tables for one final breakfast. Even on the last day of the prison's operation, the meal period would last only twenty minutes, as the Warden was determined to adhere to the rigid regulations right up to the final hour. While the inmates sat in the Mess Hall, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Prisons Fred T. Wilkinson answered questions for the press, and took reporters on a brief tour of the cellhouse. After the inmates had filed back to their cells, each one was met by an officer and then handcuffed and shackled, and prepared for final departure.

Correctional Officer Keith Dennison standing guard inside the main cellhouse corridor on the day of the prison's closure.

The inmates stood quietly until the cellhouse officer gave the final signal to march quietly down Broadway in a single-file procession. There were only the eerie sounds of the inmates' shackles, and the snapping shutters from the press-pool cameras. Several men covered their faces as the flash bulbs burst off in quick succession, trying to capture the final march of prisoners at Alcatraz. Interestingly enough, the last inmate to be incarcerated at Alcatraz would also be the last to leave. Frank C. Weatherman, inmate #AZ-1576, was the last inmate to board the prison launch. When the press asked him how he felt about the closure, he uttered what would become the prison's eulogy: "Alcatraz was never good for anybody." The members of the press were then invited back into the cellhouse for coffee and donuts in the Mess Hall. Meanwhile the remaining officers left their posts and secured their weapons for the last time. USP Alcatraz then closed its doors after twenty-nine years of operation.

The final march down Broadway by the last group of inmates, on March 21, 1963. The prisoners were subjected to the strict Alcatraz regimen even in the final hours of the prison's operation.

Frank C. Weatherman was the last inmate to be incarcerated at Alcatraz.

Correctional officers watching a plane carrying the last group of prisoners from Alcatraz, as it took off from San Francisco International Airport after the closing of the prison on March 21, 1963.