John Paul Scott
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John Paul Scott (born in 1927 in Leitchfield, Kentucky, died February 22, 1987 in prison in Tallahassee, Florida ) was the only inmate of Alcatraz, who proved conclusively that it was possible to reach the San Francisco shore by swimming. Scott was convicted of bank robbery and the possession of unregistered firearms in Lexington. He was sentenced to 30 years at Alcatraz[1].
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[edit] Early life
John Paul Scott was born in Leitchfield, Kentucky in 1927. Scott robbed banks and held up armed robberies and was sent to Atlanta Penitentiary, Alcatraz and Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee.
[edit] Alcatraz and escape attempt
John Paul Scott was shipped to Alcatraz Island 1959 and became #AZ1403. On December 16, 1962 he tried to escape from the island together with Darl Lee Parker, a convicted bank robber and hijacker (sentence 50 years). The two bent the bars of a window in the kitchen of the cellblock. They roped down and made it to the water. Then they tried to swim to the San Francisco Shore. For that purpose, they made water wings from stolen rubber gloves. The escape was noticed at 5:47 p.m.[2]
Parker had to give up after a short time and was recaptured just 25 minutes after they discovered the escape on the rock formation Little Alcatraz (100 yards from Alcatraz).
Although the Coast Guard was searching the bay, they couldn't find Scott. At 7:40 p.m. the Presidio Military police got a call from two teenagers, who found an unconscious person at Fort Point. It turned out, that the person, who was suffering from hypothermia and exhaustion, was John Paul Scott. After recovering in the Letterman General Hospital, he was returned to Alcatraz.
[edit] Circumstances
The seasonal water temperature in the Bay is about 8°C (46°F) in December. Therefore it seemed impossible to escape from Alcatraz by swimming. Furthermore there is a current of up to 3 knots (5,4 km/h). These facts, combined with myths of "man-eating" sharks and razor-sharp rocks, were utilized by prison officers to scare prisoners with the intention to prevent escape attempts. When Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin disappeared half a year earlier, the prison officials stated, that they were drowned (although the FBI just called them missing).
Due to the "successful" escape this line of reasoning was shaken. For the first time it was proven, that a prisoner swam approx. three miles to the shore[3]. It was proven, that an escape from Alcatraz Island was possible. Many people took this as an indication of a possible successful escape of Morris and Anglin.
After the closing of Alcatraz, Scott was transferred to Leavenworth, later on to Marion, Illinois, where he made another escape attempt. He died 1987 in the Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee, Florida.
[edit] References
- ^ [http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/history/sfoeat14.htm San Francisco Genealogy including picture]
- ^ [http://www.notfrisco2.com/alcatraz/escapes.html Escapes from Alcatraz 1934 to 1962]
- ^ San Francisco Genealogy
