Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years

by Michael Esslinger

  As the car came to a halt at the side of the roadway, Davidson drew his pistol and Tozer forcefully restrained Burgett, leaving multiple cuts and bruises about his face. On arrival at Leavenworth, Burgett still refused to cooperate and stated that he would rather die than be forced to serve his time there. This event would buy him his ticket to Alcatraz, in consideration of the length of his sentence. He would arrive on Alcatraz as inmate AZ-991, on August 27, 1952.

  At Alcatraz, Burgett briefly enjoyed a reputation as a good inmate. His progress report states that he enjoyed playing cards and table games in the recreation yard. He also played the Hawaiian guitar and subscribed to the magazine Flying, and he purchased books on system navigation and other related subjects. It is speculated that Burgett planned his escape from the Rock for several months in advance, collecting sections of raincoats, plywood, and electricians’ tape over a long period of time.

  Alcatraz Guard Harold Miller had worked as a casket maker before entering the prison service. He was only twenty-seven years of age and had been working at Alcatraz for about ten months. The garbage assignment was a tough and potentially dangerous detail for the correctional staff. Inmates on this detail would sometimes trim trees and shrubbery, and had access to sharpened gardening tools, even axes. Inmates had to possess good conduct records to be chosen for this detail, as it was considered a privileged assignment. Both Burgett and Johnson had been on this detail for nearly six months at the time of their escape attempt. Miller had just started supervising the detail, and this would only be his fourth shift on this assignment.

  At 2:30 p.m., Miller checked in at the control room, and logged his assignment and report time. Shortly thereafter, the inmates working at the southeast tip of the island made their way down a path to throw some refuse into a bed of century plants. Without warning, Johnson pulled a paring knife on Miller, and Burgett grabbed the unsuspecting guard, taking him to the ground. The inmates warned Miller that if he cooperated, he would not be harmed. Burgett stuffed a piece of clothing into the guard’s mouth, and then the two quickly tied his hands with tape and wrapped more black tape around his head and eyes. The events that followed are described in an interview with Johnson following the inmates’ eventual capture:

  Subsequent to the capture of inmate Johnson #864, he was interviewed by the Warden and Associate Warden. This interview took place at least an hour after Johnson had been brought to the Administration Building form the Beach. Part of the interview was conducted with both the Warden and Associate Warden, and part of it while the Warden was out of the room.

  Johnson states that the officer Mr. Miller made his check call at 2:30 p.m. (Sept. 29, 1958) from the vicinity of the foghorn station. He says that he, Mr. Miller, and inmate Burgett proceeded directly from this station to the gate by the Associate Warden’s house and Mr. Kaeppel’s cottage. He said that he and Burgett had convinced Mr. Miller that they should go into this area to clean the roadway and drainage outlets. He claims that they had swept up and picked up considerable trash and they suggested to Mr. Miller that they carry the trash over the stone wall and dump the trash down the face of the cliff. He says that they also told Mr. Miller that it was part of their duty to keep the cactus trimmed alongside the pathway leading from the gate to the Beach facing Fisherman’s Wharf and that they suggested looking this over to see if it needed trimming.

  As they were returning along the path toward the gate, Burgett was in the lead followed by Mr. Miller, with Johnson coming up the rear. Johnson says that a point some 20 feet from the gate they pulled a knife on Mr. Miller and taped his eyes and mouth. They tied his hands behind him and then the two of them guided Mr. Miller directly down the hillside towards the vicinity of the large wooden warning sign. They then went a short distance Northward where Mr. Miller was tied to a tree. Johnson states that the two of them then went westward toward the cement steps at the foot of the pathway leaving from the Associate Warden’s house. At this point they observed a boat approaching near to the island. They became alarmed and headed back toward the place where they had left Officer Miller. Johnson states that they then examined Mr. Miller’s bindings to make sure that he was suffering no ill effects and to be sure that he had not loosened the bindings.

  Johnson claims that when they left Mr. Miller the second time that he and Burgett parted company. He repeatedly stated that he had not seen Burgett after parting with him after this point. He says that he continued on westward and finally removed a plastic bag from underneath his sweatshirt where he had been carrying it folded. He says he then inflated this bag to the best of his ability and fastened the opening securely. He says the bag was some 2 x 3 feet in size. Johnson claims that up to this point he had intended to hide out until dark but after inflating the bag he decided to try it immediately. When he stepped in to the water he states that, “the bag was torn from my hands and I lost not only the bag but just about everything I had including my dental plate.” He claims that at this time he gave up all hope of escaping, as he did not think it possible to escape by swimming or even floating in the cold water. Johnson also claims that inmate Burgett changed his mind several times; and one time he would argue that they should try to escape into the water as quickly as possible, at another time he would feel that they should wait until dark before getting off the island.

  Johnson again and again emphasized the fact that they had picked this particular time for attempting to escape because of the change from daylight savings to standard time. He says that they had waited for this change in order that darkness would come sooner than under daylight saving time. He further admits that the timing at the change of job rotations were definitely to their advantage, inasmuch as the officers were not yet familiar with their new assignments. He steadily maintains that they had not waited for a dense fog but that the fog on the date of the escape was purely accidental so far as their planning was concerned.

  When Miller failed to report in at the routine roll call, the other guards immediately launched a search. Within minutes, the piercing sound of the klaxon alarm resonated throughout the island, and radio bulletins went out to the patrol officers on mainland San Francisco. All of the guards were called to duty, and they began the extensive search. Walking in groups of two with one unarmed lead-man and the other carrying a .45 pistol, they were finally able to locate Miller after nearly an hour of searching. Miller was found tied to a tree, unharmed.

  A Coast Guard cutter was dispatched to aid in the search, which was hampered by the dense fog. At approximately 5:00 p.m. the Coast Guard managed to locate Johnson, who was standing waist-deep in the fifty-degree water, shivering. They drew their rifles on him, and waited until guards on shore were able to apprehend him. Johnson didn’t resist.

  In a letter to Burgett’s father on October 9, 1958, Warden Madigan wrote that at approximately 3:15 p.m., a member of the staff had heard cries for help, but could not locate where the sound was coming from. A massive search effort was initiated to locate Burgett. It was speculated that he had drowned, as there was a three-knot ebb tide that day, which would have made it impossible for him to swim. Several days later, divers were brought in to search the kelp beds in hopes that they would locate Burgett’s body.

  On October 12th Alcatraz Guard Lyndon Cropper reported to his assigned post in the road tower, and noticed a body floating a few hundred feet from the eastern end of the island. A Coast Guard patrol boat was dispatched to retrieve the body. In his official report on the incident, Warden Madigan described how the body of Aaron Burgett was identified:

  On Sunday, October 12, 1958, at approximately 09:30 A.M., J.B. Latimer, Associate Warden, and I reached Pier No. 45 ½ in the Fisherman’s Wharf area, San Francisco, California. There were two Police Officers, Harbor Patrol Officers, and about five members of the Coast Guard present.

  I saw a wire net litter-basket stretcher covered with a blanket and a right and left show protruding. The stretcher was in the rear section of a small boat. I climbed down a ladder into the
boat and partially uncovered a body, which was resting on the stretcher with the front side up. The face was beyond recognition because of the missing flesh and the damaged condition probably due to decomposition and sea life. The putrid odor of decaying flesh was evident. All of the hair was missing from the top of the head, but there was sandy colored hair around the sides and back of the head. Most of the fingers appeared to be in good condition; however, the skin was hanging from some of the fingers and it is probable that the end joints of two fingers were missing. The skin on the inner sides of both thumbs were in good condition. I placed the fingerprint card from Burgett’s institutional file beside the right thumb and determined that the two were identical. The ridge counts to the core were identical. Several ending ridges below a line extending from the left to right deltas were identical. All bifurcations, islands, and other characteristics were identical.

  The actual fingerprint card used to identify Burgett’s body.

  A khaki cotton belt commonly worn by prisoners at Alcatraz was around the abdomen, but not passed through the belt loops of the trousers, with the number “991” in large numbers on a white cloth which was sewn on the belt. The body was clothed in a heavy “T” under shirt, white cotton shorts, two pairs prison trousers, a heavy khaki undershirt with the legs through the sleeves and the bottom pinned around the waist, three pairs of socks, and brown low-cut work shoes. A broken piece of ply-wood was secured to the bottom of the left shoe by means of electricians tape and a copper wire. A cotton bag similar to those carried by inmates to carry dominoes to the exercise yard was fastened to the belt which was buckled in the rear of the body. The bag contained two smooth stones, the larger of which was about two inches in diameter, a roll of black electricians tape about 21/2 inches in diameter, about ½ cup sand, approximately 10 feet of cord and show laces, and a piece of wire about 10 inches long. The large stenciled numbers, “991” appeared on the belt, undershirt, underwear, and one pair of trousers. The stenciled number, “814” was on the outer pair of trousers. A stainless steel knife was removed by one of the morgue officers and retained by me. This knife was enclosed in plastic, initialed, and submitted to the Warden. The teeth appeared to be in good condition. The body was then covered with a blanket and removed to by uniformed City Morgue Officers to the City Morgue, 650 Merchant Street, San Francisco, California.

  Mr. Latimer and I then went to the City Morgue where I watched the clothing being removed from the body. The body measured 6 feet and 2 inches in length and weighed 22 pounds. The inside surface of the right calf of the leg had the tattoo, “499-30-0783”, in large blue-black numbers. (This is the number on Burgett’s Social Security card now in his personal belongings.) There was also a “pachuco” tattoo in the form of an “X”, arc with rays, and a cross, below the series of numbers and upside down when viewed from the feet.

  The officers at the Morgue assured me that their technicians would obtain pictures of the corpse and fingerprints for the institution. A copy of the dental chart furnished by Agent Keith,... B.I., was placed with the body and the remains were wheeled into the refrigeration room.

  It is my opinion, based upon my acquaintance with inmate Burgett, clothing commonly worn by inmates at Alcatraz, the stiff right middle finger, tattoo marks, identical ridges on the fingers with the fingerprint cards on file, weight and measurements of the corpse, and other features, that the body was that of Aaron Walter Burgett, Reg. No. 991-AZ, beyond any reasonable doubt.

  Burgett’s body was released to the Godeau Funeral Home on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.

  Clyde Johnson was paroled from prison in 1971. While on parole, he was again convicted of armed bank robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, assaulting a Federal officer and attempted escape. He was sentenced to serve thirty-six years for his crimes. In August of 1994, Johnson was diagnosed with lymphoma of the stomach and colon. He died at the Men’s Federal Correctional Institution in Lexington, Kentucky on October 29, 1995.

  ESCAPE ATTEMPT #13

  Date:

  June 11, 1962

  Inmates:

  Frank Lee Morris

  John and Clarence Anglin

  Allen Clayton West

  Location:

  Main Cellhouse (B Block)

  Main Cellhouse (B Block)

  The Great Escape from Alcatraz

  The classic motion picture Escape from Alcatraz featured Academy Award-winning actor Clint Eastwood in an amazingly accurate portrayal of Frank Morris.

  If there was ever an inmate who was destined to escape from Alcatraz, it was Frank Lee Morris. In the 1973 movie Escape from Alcatraz, Clint Eastwood accurately portrayed Morris as the brilliant mastermind of one of the most famous prison escapes in history. The escape plan took several months to design, and required the fabrication of clever decoys and water survival gear. Today it is considered one of the most ingenious escape plans ever attempted.

  Frank Lee Morris

  Frank Lee Morris – a chronology of mug shot photographs, representing a hardening lifetime spent in prison. On his Alcatraz admission card, officials listed one of his formal occupations as “escape artist,” and noted his superior intelligence. He would escape from nearly every prison to which he was ever committed.

  Frank Lee Morris had spent a lifetime navigating the prison system before his arrival on Alcatraz. From his infant years until his teens, Morris was shuffled from one foster home to another. Frank’s years as a toddler are poorly documented, but it is known that he was convicted of his first crime at the youthful age of thirteen. Whether by fate or misfortune, Frank’s rudderless course had been dictated by his mother long before birth. Some sources indicate that his Morris’s mother was the daughter of an upper-middle-class family and that she began her misadventures as a runaway at a very young age.

  It is alleged that Frank’s mother was in her teens when she found herself pregnant. Frank was born on September 1, 1926, in Ednor Maryland. In his responses to a questionnaire that he completed at sixteen years of age during incarceration in a youth reformatory, Frank documented that his mother was born in Ireland, his father born in Spain, and both were dead (he claimed that his father had died when he was two or three). He went on to reflect that their passing had affected him very deeply. He was raised in foster homes with extremely strict foster parents who delivered harsh discipline, and on occasion he resided with his aunt and her children. His responses to the questionnaire also indicated low self-esteem. In one question asking his opinion of his own appearance, he stated “not so good.”

  Frank was convicted of his first crime at only thirteen years of age for burglary. He was arrested by the Sheriff's Office in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and was listed as a runaway from Washington. On November 13, 1940, at age fourteen, the young freckled-faced Morris was again arrested for burglary, and was sentenced to six years and nine months. His sentence was to be served at the National Training School for Boys in Washington D.C., not far from the reformatory where his mother had once allegedly been interned. His teachers considered him highly intelligent but difficult to manage and uninterested in his studies. In one incident during his first few weeks of imprisonment at the boys’ school, he drew a sexually explicit sketch of his female teacher, including sexual comments and signing it “from guess who?”

  Morris was prone to violent outbursts, as was illustrated on the morning of July 31, 1941. He had been caught stealing oranges from the kitchen icebox, and was told by the senior officer to put them back. When he refused to obey the order, the officer stated that he would have him benched for three days. But as soon as the officer turned his back, Morris threw a large kitchen knife, which struck him on the blunt side, luckily causing no injury. After receiving harsh discipline for this act, he began planning his escape. Thus began Frank’s career in what would later be listed on his Alcatraz record card as his official occupation, that of an “escape artist.”

  By the time Morris reached his late teens, his criminal record included a multitude of cri
mes ranging from narcotics possession to armed robbery, and he had become a professional inhabitant of the correctional system. His repeated escapes and quite brazen acts of non-conformity earned him his way to ever-larger penitentiaries. His life was a merry-go-round of short bouts of freedom interspersed with long terms of imprisonment. Meanwhile, he graduated from small burglaries to large bank heists. Then one day in late April 1955, while serving a ten-year sentence in the Louisiana State Penitentiary for armed robbery and possession of narcotics, Morris and fellow inmate Bill Martin were on a work detail cutting sugar cane when both slipped away – and their escape went undetected for several hours.

  The fugitives made their way to New Orleans, and after several months of lying low, devised a plan to rob a bank in Kansas City. Because they knew in advance that alarm mechanisms were wired to the bank doors, Morris, Martin, and a third accomplice named Earl Branci decided to cut a hole through the rear wall to minimize the risk of detection. After gaining access, Morris torched through the rear of two vaults, and removed $6,165 in coins, weighing a total of 1,200 pounds. The three men retreated to the home of a woman living in Baton Rouge, where they were harbored for several weeks. Soon after, all of them were apprehended by the FBI. Morris earned a Federal prison term of fourteen years, and he would eventually find his way to Alcatraz.