Additional prison space is consistent with the president’s efforts to crack down on US criminal activity.
President Donald Trump has said he wants to reopen Alcatraz’s prisons “which have been “substantially expanded and rebuilt,” and wants to place violent criminals in facilities, repeatedly criminals and possibly repeatedly illegal immigrants.
Management Crime Management Efforts
Additional prison space is consistent with the president’s efforts to crack down on US criminal activity. The current administration worked together in the first few months of the administration to send illegal immigrants belonging to several major gangs, sending it to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, the largest security prison in El Salvador.
The President hinted at this in his announcement. “We can now eliminate criminals, thugs, judges who are now afraid to do their jobs, allowing us to remove criminals who have been held hostage, who have come to our country illegally.
The Prison Director confirmed with the Epoch Times that his department is already working towards the president’s stated goals.
“The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will actively pursue all paths to support and implement the President’s agenda,” Prisons Director, Department of William K. Marshall III, said in an emailed statement.
“We ordered an immediate assessment to determine our needs and our next steps. USPAlcatraz has a rich history. We look forward to restoring this powerful symbol of law, order and justice. We will actively work with law enforcement and other federal partners to revive this very important mission.”
Opposition
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has shown on social media that she does not believe the president’s comments constitute a “serious” proposal.
The famous former prison housed criminals such as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly before it was closed in 1963.
During its operation, it was touted as America’s safest prison, part of the island’s location, with the cold water and strong currents surrounding the facility serving as a horrifying moat.
The escape from Alcatraz is believed to have been unsuccessful. Over the course of 29 years as a working prison, 36 men tried to escape in 14 separate attempts. All have been captured or found not surviving their attempts, except for five people listed as “presumedly drowned missing.”
The fate of three of those inmates, John Anglin, his brother Clarence and Frank Morris, was the subject of the 1979 film “Asceas From Alcatraz,” which attempted an escape in 1962, starring Clint Eastwood.
origin
An executive order issued in 1850 set the island aside for use by the US military. The subsequent California Gold Rush brought great growth to the San Francisco Gulf region, with the Army building a fortress on the island in the mid-1800s.
The Army Base was a fortress of American power, but never fired a gun in the battle. At the time, Alcatraz was the most strongly strengthened military facility on the West Coast. In addition to Port Points and Lime Points, the Alcatraz were part of the “Defensive Triangle” set up to protect the entrance to the Bay.
The Army used the island for another 80 years until 1933, when it was transferred to the Department of Justice for use by the Bureau of Prisons. It was then used as the lowest prison prison for maximum security to house “the most unacceptable prisoners in federal prisons,” according to the Prison Bureau.
The prisons are said to have been used in the 1920s and 1930s as a way of showing the public that government was serious about cracking down on rampant crimes.