Final Inhabitant of Alcatraz Addressing Trump’s Intention to Restore Correctional Facility

A former Alcatraz inmate, Charlie Hopkins, now 93, reflects on his three-year stay at the notorious federal prison. Sent to Alcatraz in 1955 for causing trouble at other facilities, he describes life as “deathly quiet” with the only sound being the distant whistle of ships. Hopkins shares his experiences, including his job cleaning the prison floors and a failed escape plan he helped organize, as well as life among infamous neighbors like Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz.” He discusses the increased security measures during his time and the eventual closure of Alcatraz in 1963, a decision based on cost-effectiveness. Hopkins currently lives in Florida and was informed by the San Francisco National Archives that he may be the last surviving former Alcatraz inmate. The article also touches on President Donald Trump’s recent comment about wanting to reopen Alcatraz for the country’s most violent offenders, a proposal that experts and historians consider highly unlikely due to the immense costs of renovation. Despite his past involvement in robberies and kidnappings leading to his imprisonment, Hopkins has since written a 1,000-page memoir, reflecting on his life and the troubles he caused during his incarceration.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yep08r9vjo