The Great Alcatraz Escape, 1962 Essay Sample

The Alcatraz prison escape of 1962 was undoubtedly the most ingenious prison escape to date, which featured inmates: John Anglin, Frank Morris, and Clarence Anglin. The island penitentiary was located off the coast of San Francisco, and typically held unruly, escape artist prisoners, thus holding the standard of being an “escape-proof” prison. The sole recorded successful escape at Alcatraz was by the Anglins and Morris, though, most presume the men died due to harsh conditions in the San Francisco bay and unexplainable phenomena within the case.  Despite conflicting opinions, Alcatraz fugitives must have been alive due to determination of escape, mild conditions in the bay, and newly found evidence confirming the escapees’ survival and fortunate breakout. 

Alcatraz, originating with the name “La Isla de Los Alcatraz” meaning “island of the pelicans,” was anglicized to Alcatraz and surrendered to serve as the United States Military Prison in 1907. From 1934 to 1963, Alcatraz served as a federal prison for many dangerous criminals such as Al Capone, George Kelly, and the infamous escapees’ John Anglin, Frank Morris, and Clarence Anglin. The Anglin brothers — John and Clarence — were convicted for a string of bank robberies and attempts to escape other prisons, which racked up a 35-year sentence. Frank Morris — the third escapee — was also serving incarceration for bank robbery, but his sentence was capped at 14 years. While the men had lengthy sentences, the severity of their crimes, or lack thereof played a significant role in their determination to escape Alcatraz. Paired with previous escape attempts at other prisons, the men utilized a substantial advantage for survival. A month before the notable escape the men scraped away the brick and plaster walls of their cells with spoons they had stolen from the canteen (Martin). The men also used plaster from Paris — a women’s makeup kit — and hair collected from the prison barber to make mannequin heads that poked out from beneath their blankets to fake their presence in their cells (Martin). Moreover, the brilliant combination of these methods alongside resourcefulness in prison proved the escapee’s intelligence sprouting from previous escape attempts. The men’s determination was magnified in their plan, since stealing from a prison as hardcore as Alcatraz could lead to a bloody beating or worse. The escape was extremely important to the men, and they placed the escape above their good behavior marks. When the time came for escape, the men climbed through the holes and made their way to the roof; which they then dropped down an unguarded wall and ran to the sea (Martin). The pristine plans of the prisoners inevitably insinuated the promise of survival but also explored the prisoner’s desire to survive. While many prisoners committed suicide on the “devil-island” due to its trapping nature, the escapees chose life and instead crafted a detailed, lengthy plan to escape swiftly into the night. The prisoners carried with them rubber raincoats which were converted to make a raft off the island, thus ending their stay at Alcatraz. The plan was carried out flawlessly for the men thanks to the “brains” of the operation, Frank Morris with an IQ 133 and a “Houdini” of prison escapes, and the partnership with the Anglin brothers (Black). Furthermore, the careful partnership of the men with confidence and expertise in escaping allowed the men to exhaust all of their resources and intelligence for survival. The careful timelines and planning could only lead to the most successful escape of the century and most certainly accounted for any wrinkles the men might have encountered. With the success of breaking the psychological precedent of “never” escaping a place like Alcatraz, who is to say, the escapees could not do the impossible — survival — when they technically already had?

A more prevalent theory of the survival/death of the escapees include the conditions of San Franciso Bay. While the bay surrounding Alcatraz surely would not be ideal for an escape, they are most certainly survivable given the right circumstances. Many opinions regarding the death of the men make note of the “shark-infested waters” around the San Francisco Bay. While the bay does contain sharks, it does not contain violent-jaws-like sharks. In fact, the bay contains nursery sharks — which eat worms, crabs, and small fish — and broadnose sevengill sharks, which rarely ever surface (Water World Swim). Moreover, the prisoners’ chances of getting eaten by a shark — or another animal — are very slight in comparison to other locations. The lack of sea predators hunting the escapees crossed another unfavorable condition off their list and hinted towards survival. According to the FBI case file, a life vest identified as identical to those made by escapees washed up alongside Cronkhite beach the same afternoon of the breakout (U.S FBI Alcatraz). The makeshift life vests were undoubtedly a crafty means of survival by the prisoners and were even tested for effectiveness by the FBI. According to the report, all appeared to float for many hours and allowed for plenty of time to make it to Angel Island, the prisoners’ destination. Furthermore, Dyke ran tests through Coast Guard simulations which proved the men could have survived the cold bay water for at least 2 ½ hours if the raft failed (Sullivan). Moreover, the men had extreme favors in their hands, including their 8-10 hour head start before guards became suspicious. The chance of survival with the tides and the distance of swimming also proved a match for success. Devon Mecham was one of 600 people to swim to San Franciso from Alcatraz in a race called the Alcatraz Challenge (Sullivan). While Mecham successfully reached his destination only for a race, the prisoners most certainly could have reached theirs competing for freedom instead of a trophy. The biological instinct of “fight or flight” was activated as soon as the prisoners began to escape and ultimately fueled their successful breakout. While the bay would require extraneous efforts to escape, the ultimate desire and determination for escape led the prisoners to prosper in freedom instead of perishing at Alcatraz. 

While the Alcatraz Escape holds many theories and personal perspectives, newly found evidence — within the last fifteen years — further confirms the prisoners successfully survived the escape. The notable letter from John Anglin, which reopened the 40-year-old FBI cold case served as a shock to law enforcement and society. The letter begins with “My name is John Anglin” … “I escaped from Alcatraz in June 1962. Yes we all made it that night, but barely!” (BBC News). The letter informs the reader John, Clarence, and Frank Morris lived into old age after escaping, with Clarence dying in 2008 and Morris dying in 2005; Further, John attempted to plead a deal with enforcement by asking them to announce on TV he was promised no more than one year of jail for medical attention due to his cancer at 83 years old and he would release his location (BBC News). However, John’s proposal was never responded to and handwriting samples proved inconclusive. This particular letter was significant because not only did it introduce the Alcatraz escape to a new generation; it also qualified previous opinions of the prisoners survival with concrete evidence. While contested by the public as a fake, it would prove odd a letter from John Anglin requesting medical attention would come to light exactly half a century later — when the Anglin brothers and Morris would definitely be old and feeble — and be fabricated evidence. The coincidence of this happening would be very slim as the Alcatraz escape case was not ongoing in public attention and had been closed for 40 years. Moreover, according to David Widner, a nephew of John and Clarence Anglin, his grandmother received roses for several years after the escape signed by the brothers (Frost). The anecdote from a trusted family member further confirms the survival of the brothers as forgery of letters and continual sending of flowers would be too much effort for an individual with no connection to the case or family. The only individuals who could have invested their time and money into allowing a family member to know they were alive and well would have been the Anglin brothers themselves. Despite efforts to dissent against the survival of the escapees, numerous amounts of definitive evidence puts the prisoners and their survival into perspective. 

While the well-known case of Alcatraz created significant differing opinions, the answer is transparent beyond a doubt. The escapees survival is underlined in history due to determination and intelligence, semi-favorable conditions in the San Francisco bay, and substantial amounts of hard evidence proving the prisoners received their sweet taste of freedom after all.