Trump: How realistic is it to reopen Alcatraz?
US President Donald Trump reiterated his proposal to open and expand the Alcatrazthe once infamous island – prison in the frozen waters of San Francisco.
Alcatraz – widely known as « Rock » – has not been used as a prison for decades. Now it is a historic monument visiting millions of tourists every year.
The US president says he believes that prison could be used again to housing dangerous prisoners and serve as a symbol of law and order in the US, as the Bbc.
However, experts say that the renovation of the ruined residues of the once terrible prison is not « at all realistic ».
Alcatraz’s story
Alcatraz, located on an island about two kilometers off San Francisco, was originally built to function as a naval fort, but was rebuilt in the early 20th century as a military prison.
In 1934, it was officially transformed into a federal prison – the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary – hosting infamous prisoners such as gangster al -Capone, Mickey Cohen and George Gun Kelly, among others.
Prison was one of the most notorious in the US at that time. Most thought that you could not escape it because of the strong currents and very low temperatures of the San Francisco Gulf.
The installation also became famous by the 1979 American film, « Escape from Alcatraz », which narrates a prisoners’ escape in 1962, starring Clint Eastwood in the role of Frank Morris who pioneered it.
Also, there was filmed in 1996, The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage, for a former SAS captain and a FBI chemist who rescues hostages from the island of Alcatraz.
When did the prison closed
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, its operation was almost three times more expensive than other federal institutions and eventually closed by Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1963.
The island and prison are now a museum operated by the National Park. More than 1.4 million people visit it each year.
« Alcatraz is a place where the past meets the present, » said Christine Lartz, president and chief executive of Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, in a statement sent to the BBC.
« It challenges us to hear, learn and convey the stories that still shape our world today, » he added.
Reagan had also examined it
Donald Trump is not the first president to examine the reopening of Alcatraz facilities as a detention center.
In 1981, Alcatraz was one of the 14 locations examined by the Reagan government to keep up to 20,000 refugees who had fled Cuba to Florida as part of the Mariel Boatlift (« éxodo del Mariel » in Spanish).
The space was finally rejected because of its value as a historic tourist site and the Pancreas lack of suitable facilities.
What has Trump stated
In a post on Truth Social on May 4, Trump initially said that he had ordered his government to reopen and expand the island’s prison, saying that « for a long time America is plagued by violent, wicked and serial criminals ».
Speaking to reporters at the White House the next day, Trump said that, in his view, Alcatraz « represents something very strong, very strong » – law and order.
« We need law and order in this country, » he said. « That’s why we’ll look at it. Some of the people here will work very hard for it. «
Although he said he finds the idea « interesting », Trump also acknowledged that prison is today a « big fort » that « rushes and rot ».
« It somehow represents something that is at the same time horrible and beautiful and strong and unhappy, » he said.
Trump’s border tsar, Tom Homan, also told reporters that Alcatraz could be « an option » for « significant threats to public security and threats to national security ».
« It should be put on the table, » he added.
Can it really reopen?
Shortly after Trump’s comments were made around the world, Justice Ministry spokesman Chad Gilmarin said in a statement that the BOP « is working to rebuild and open Alcatraz to serve as a symbol of the law and the law ».
However, prison experts and historians have expressed serious doubts about whether the plan is possible.
« To be honest, at first I thought it was a joke, » Hugh Hourvitz, who served as BOP’s service director from May 2018 to August 2019, told the BBC. « It is not realistic to believe you can repair it. You had to break it up and start from the beginning. «
Hurvitz pointed to a series of problems with facilities, including buildings that « literally collapse » and cells in which « a person of 1.80 m cannot stand up ».
« There are no security upgrades. There are no cameras. No fence, « he added. « You can’t direct a prison. »
Two hub issues
« I have two words: water and sewage, » said Jolin Babiak, a writer and historian of Alcatraz, who lived there as a child during her father’s two terms as a prison manager.
« At the time of its prosperity, all the sewage for 500 or more people were just thrown into the vagina, » he said. « Today they have to carry them by boat. It’s not at all realistic. But it captures everyone’s imagination, « he added.
When the installation closed in 1963, BOP said that the operation of Alcatraz was almost three times more accurate than any other federal prison – per capita costs were $ 10 to $ 13 per prisoner, compared to $ 3 to $ 5 in other facilities. This was partly due to the fact that the delivery of food and supply by ship were required.
In today’s federal prisons, the per capita costs for detainees ranges between $ 120 and $ 164 – which means that costs could exceed $ 500 per person in an installation such as Alcatraz.
Alcatraz could only fit about 340 inmates at its zenith.
« It was incredibly expensive to keep a convict there, » said John Martini, a historian who spent several years in Alcatraz as a forestorish of the National Park Service. « Things haven’t changed. But the place has taken the walk down. «
« It’s basically a shell. Even concrete has big problems. The Park Service has allocated millions for its structural stabilization, « he added. « It will take water, electricity, heating and drainage. None of them work. «
« This (Trump’s comments) is just another turn in Alcatraz’s weird story, » Martini added.
