HOT PURSUIT

During one of my recent travels, I stumbled across a piece of American history that once featured the final stop for the nation’s most incorrigible prisoners.

I toured Alcatraz Prison located on a lonely island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. From 1934 until 1963, Alcatraz was America’s premier maximum-security prison.

Alcatraz housed bank robbers, gangsters, kidnappers and killers. They were reputedly some of the toughest and most incorrigible federal convicts in America.

It quickly became known as “Uncle Sam’s Devil’s Island,” or “Hellcatraz.” Ironically, Alcatraz sits in a scenic heaven overlooking gorgeous views of San Francisco.

Perhaps the most famous of all Alcatraz inmates was Robert Stroud, often remembered for his portrayal in the 1962 movie “Birdman of Alcatraz.” He was convicted of murder in 1909 after shooting a man at point-blank range.

As I toured the facility, it reminded me of my one night stint in the McLeod County Jail in Glencoe back in the 1980s. Before you get any wild ideas, I was locked up—by choice— in the jail at 16 years old to do a story for the newspaper I worked at on the new jail. I still have my fingerprints from the booking at the jail as a souvenir.

After my lock up, I quickly decided jail wasn’t anything for me. I remember it being the longest night of my life.

“When the heck am I going to get out of here?” I kept thinking to myself.

I can’t even comprehend what it would be like to be locked up for days, weeks, months, years and even decades.

The McLeod jail could almost be considered spending a night at a Hilton Hotel compared to Alcatraz.

There were eight people murdered by inmates on Alcatraz. Five men committed suicide while 15 others died from natural causes.

Let’s just say touring Alcatraz gives you the willies. It’s hard to not feel creeped out by standing in a damp cell furnished with a rusty toilet, cracked washbasin and puke-green and tan walls.

I’ve heard the night tours of Alcatraz are even worse. The goose-bump mood heightens even more at night.

While Alcatraz was best known as a federal prison, it also has a rich history which includes functioning as a military fort, the site of a civil protest occupation, a GSA managed asset and a National Historic Landmark.

I guess tours like this make me appreciate my freedom all that much more. I’ve done my jail time and have no plans of going in hot pursuit of getting locked up again.