Silence, Boredom, attempted escape … A former detainee from Alcatraz testifies to his passage in the famous American prison – Liberation

BBC found Charlie Hopkins in Florida. At 93, the man claims that the national archives of San Francisco informed him that he was probably the last former detainee ofAlcatraz still alive. Closed for decades, this prison which is among the most famous of the United States could reopen on the impetus of Donald Trump, the President who said on May 4 that he wanted redo a federal detention center.

The ex-prisoner says that of his three years spent in the prison, built on an isolated island in the bay of San Francisco, he especially remembers the « Dead silence » who reigned there. Sent to Alcatraz in 1955 after having had to go to other prisons, Charlie Hopkins had to serve a sentence of seventeen years for kidnapping and flight. With the BBC, he says that when he fell asleep in his cell in his cell, he only heard the whistling of boats in the distance. « It’s a lonely sound. It reminds you of Hank Williams singing this song I am so alone that I could cry.»»

If the prison was clean, it was especially empty of any distraction: at the time, there was no radio and few books. « There was nothing to do. You could walk long in your cell or make pumps ”recalls Charlie Hopkins, who occupied part of his time cleaning the premises, sweeping the floors and lustrating them « Until they shine ».

In Alcatraz, Charlie Hopkins had sadly famous neighbors. In thirty years of existence, the establishment has hosted many violent criminals such as Al Capone, the sponsor of the crime James « Whitey » Bulger, or Robert Stroud, murderous known as « Birdman of Alcatraz ». The latter, a self-taught ornithologist, owes his nickname and his posterity to a film of the same name which depicted him as a bird breeder within the island Prison-a myth, since if Robert Stroud was able to take care of birds in detention, it was in the penitentiary center of Leavenworth but never in Alcatraz.

Even in this high security establishment, Charlie Hopkins managed to get into trouble, regularly ending in the « block D », where the prisoners were placed in isolation and rarely left their cell. His longest stay in Bloc D – six months – he owes it to other prisoners, including the famous Banqueur de Banque Forrest Tucker known for his multiple attempts at more or less successful escape, which he helped to try to escape. Hopkins participated in theft of metal saw blades in the prison electric workshop intended to cut the bars in the kitchen, in the basement. But the plan did not work: the prison guards discovered the blades in the cells of other prisoners. « A few days after having locked them, they locked me in my turn »relates Charlie Hopkins.

Another fact of arms of Forrest Tucker: taken to the hospital in 1956 for a kidney operation, he stabbed his ankle with a pencil so that the prison guards take off his irons. Then, when he was taken to spend a x -ray, he mastered the nurses and fled. A few hours later, he was captured in a cornfield, dressed in a hospital coat.

Others after him also tried to escape from Alcatraz. Notably Frank Morris and the Brothers Clarence and John Anglinwho fled in 1962 by placing heads of papier mache in their beds and escaping by the ventilation ducts. They were never found, but the FBI concluded that they had drowned while wanting to flee the island.

Over the years and with the multiplication of escape attempts, Charlie Hopkins has seen the conditions of detention evolve. « When I left the island in 1958, the security measures were so strict that one could not breathe »he testifies to the BBC. In total, there have been 14 escape attempts involving 36 detainees, according to the service of national parks which now deals with the management of the island.

It was in 1963 that Alcatraz closed, the government believing that it would be more profitable to build new prisons than to keep it in activity, the establishment being too isolated. Today, it is a public museum visited by millions of people each year, which generates around 60 million dollars (53 million euros) in income per year.

The 9 hectare island located 2 kilometers off San Francisco and surrounded by freezing waters with strong currents was originally a naval defense fort. The prison was rebuilt there at the beginning of the 20th century to become a military prison. The United States Ministry of Justice took it back in the 1930s, transforming it into a federal prison to fight against organized crime, galloping at the time.

After more than a century of exposure to elements, the place has become practically uninhabitable. The building is decrepit, the chopped paint, the rusty pipes and the toilets are ruined in each small cell, underlines the BBC.

Not enough to stop Donald Trump. Not only does the republican billionaire reopen the island prison, but he also intends to enlarge it. The goal, place them « The most ruthless and violent offenders » of the country. Alcatraz « Represents something very strong, very powerful »the law and the order, hammered the American president. A far -fetched proposal – moreover – according to experts and historians because its repair and upgrade cost billions of dollars, notes the British media.

An opinion shared by Charlie Hopkins, yet a fervent defender of Donald Trump. « He doesn’t really want to open this place »he believes, adding that the American president tries to « Make the public understand » that must be punished criminals and illegal immigrants. After several decades of reflection on his crimes and his life in Alcatraz, the nonagenarian ended up writing his memoirs. « I can see now, back, that I had problems », he delivers to the BBC.

Charlie Hopkins left Alcatraz in 1963. He returned to his original state, Florida, where he today has a girl and a grandson.