Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary operated as a prison for over twenty-nine years. The prison, which held notorious and lesser known criminals, opened in 1934 and closed in 1963. Alcatraz’s most notable criminals include Al Capone, Robert “Birdman” Stroud, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, and Arthur “Doc” Barker.

During the prison’s operation a total of 1,576 prisoners called the “Rock” their home. Karpis called Alcatraz home for the longest period of time, spending twenty-six years as prisoner; however, the average inmate stayed for five years. Life at Alcatraz, for prisoners, consisted of four rights: food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Anything else, such as use of the library and family visitations, the warden deemed as privileges. Some prisoners managed to shorten their stay at Alcatraz by proving their ability to become model citizens by properly performing their prison duties, such as gardening.

The prisoners, of Alcatraz, resided there because their actions in standard penitentiaries such as Leavenworth, deemed them too risky. Alcatraz appeared an inescapable prison, yet less than three years after opening Alcatraz lost its image with the first breakout attempt which was followed by thirteen others over the years. While only two of these attempts proved successful, the whereabouts of the inmates who completed these escape have not been found and the prisoners presumed dead.

Since Alcatraz served as a last resort for the inmates, those not killed during their escape attempt often faced trial and later execution. With the closing of Alcatraz in 1963, those prisoners who had yet to be released for parole were sent back to standard penitentiaries.