Alcatraz Prison

Alcatraz Prison is located on the same island in the San Francisco Strait, in the United States. From the 1850s on the island was a defensive fort, later converted into a military prison. Then Alcatraz turned into a heavily protected prison for recidivists and especially dangerous criminals. Prisoners were transferred from other prisons. Nowadays, the prison is no longer functioning for its intended purpose and has become a museum. It was closed in 1962, and since 1973 the island has been accessible to visitors.

The prison was notorious for being impossible to escape. In the east wing of the prison there were solitary confinements without basic amenities, where inmates were in total darkness, staying in them was considered one of the harshest punishments in this prison. Prisoners at Alcatraz lived according to a strict daily routine that had not changed for years. Each of them had the right to food, clothing, medical care and a roof over their heads. Additional privileges were earned by the prisoners. Prison sentences were increased by the proximity of San Francisco. For the inmates it was a sophisticated torture: to see, hear and smell freedom, but not to be able to get there.

Here served sentences such famous criminals as Al Capone, Henry Young, Robert Stroud and others.