Edward Wutke was buried on November 17, 1937, at the Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California. Only a small marker with the plot number #66 engraved marks his spot. Fellow inmates had felt that Wutke’s suicide was a serious injustice and they viewed him as somebody who “was not prison material.” He was described as being too easy going and found death more favorable than spending the majority of his life behind bars on Alcatraz. Though no letters directly from Wutke have been identified, a singular letter in his file from a family member represents a tragic finale to a life gone cold at Alcatraz.
Warden of U.S. Pen.
Alcatraz
California
Dear Sir,
Having heard that Edward Wutke is a prisoner at Alcatraz his parents would like to know on what charge he has been sentenced. The file number is 12020-26644.
Yours truly,
Henry Wutke
1843 Trumbull St.
Bay City
Michigan
[Handwritten Note] Interviewed Wutke #47 says writer is his brother (half brother). That he has not written to him as he did not want to on account of his imprisonment but inasmuch as his relatives appear interested he will write –
JAJ 10/7/36
* * *
Henry Wutke
1843 Trumbull St.
Bay City, Mich.
Dear brother Edward,
We received your letter and were very sorry to hear that you are in prison. We know that you always try to do right and avoid trouble so we believe it could not have been your fault.
The first news we had of your whereabouts was when a man from the Dept. of Labor came down from Flint, Mich. and inquired if you where an alien. Mother and Dad gave him all the information they could and he seemed satisfied and went away.
We are sending you a little money 5$ in Money Order and if there is anything we can do for you we would be glad to help.
I know you would like to hear some news of the family so here goes.
We are all well and Dad and I are working every day. Mary is married to Cecil MacDonald who teaches at the local high school. Julia is living in Flint and has seven children 6 girls and one boy. One of her girls married about 2 months ago.
I forgot to say that Mary has a 4 month old baby boy it’s named James Henry. That is all can think to write at this time. Please write soon.
Your brother and family
Henry
Robert Stroud, 594-AZ
“The Birdman of Alcatraz”
“Regardless of what we think of Hitler, and I had his number, completely, back in the 20’s, before he gained power even in Germany, he is the best possible illustration of the effectiveness of a fixed purpose. For, regardless of his personal qualities, he has a very effective single mindedness. And if I have one good quality, it is the same kind of single mindedness.”
-Robert Stroud, March 1942
Robert Franklin Stroud, the infamous “Birdman of Alcatraz”, emerged as an iconic figure in America’s 20th century history. He was seen by many as a martyr of America’s penal system, and became a self-educated and self-proclaimed ornithologist while serving over 54 years in prison. Forty-two of those years were spent in solitary confinement. Stroud’s image and the circumstances of his murder convictions were softened by a gentle portrayal in a bestselling biography written by Thomas Gaddis, later made into a major Hollywood motion picture.
Biographer Thomas Gaddis on the set of Birdman of Alcatraz with Hollywood actor Burt Lancaster in November 1960. Lancaster’s softened portrayal inspired thousands worldwide to lobby for the release of convicted murderer Robert Stroud. While their efforts proved unsuccessful, the actor’s depiction won the public’s sympathy and cast Stroud into history as a martyr of the American penal system. Gaddis’s biography became a literary classic, and also helped shape the public image of conditions at Alcatraz, even decades after its closure.
Burt Lancaster received an Academy Award® nomination for his portrayal of Robert Stroud, the infamous Birdman of Alcatraz. Lancaster had never met Stroud before or during film production, but developed an idealistic and humane characterization of his subject. Many of the officers who guarded Stroud depicted him as a genius whose personality was “composed, manipulative, and calculated with vicious, predatory, and murderous ideals.”
Alcatraz Captain of the Guards Philip Bergen.
Philip Bergen visited Stroud’s prison cell at USP Leavenworth (depicted here in the motion picture Birdman of Alcatraz) prior to his transfer to the Rock. He stated that his two adjoining cells looked very similar to those replicated in the classic motion picture. Stroud often had his birds perform circus-style tricks and his cell was a favored stop for visitors touring USP Leavenworth. Bergen indicated that there were “absolutely no accurate parallels” between Stroud and the character depicted by Burt Lancaster.
Despite his designation as the Birdman of Alcatraz, Stroud (as depicted here in the Hollywood motion picture Birdman of Alcatraz) was never permitted to have any birds while imprisoned on the Rock. However, he had been allowed to complete one of his avian books, and for a limited period continued public correspondence relating to bird care. Philip Bergen, Captain of the Guards, indicated that once Edwin Swope was appointed as the new Alcatraz warden in 1948, he stripped Stroud of all remaining privileges that were not in compliance with the standard set of rules and regulations. Swope banned all outside correspondence and fully isolated Stroud from all avian forums and communities.
Stroud was never permitted to have birds at Alcatraz, and he left behind a thriving breeding business at USP Leavenworth up until his transfer in 1942. In 1909, Stroud was convicted of the murder of a 33-year old bartender who worked at the Montana Saloon, one of Stroud’s frequent haunts in Juneau, Alaska. Stroud had come to Alaska in 1907 and was allegedly known by many as the “Peanut Kid” for selling peanuts on the streets and working odd jobs in the red light district of the now-abandoned small town of Katella. It was here that he had met Cordova prostitute and cabaret dancer Kitty O’Brien. One article derived from early Alaska oral histories described O’Brien as a “faded, wrinkled, blonde who was a wild-living drug addict, alcoholic and whore.” The Daily Record in January 1909 stated, “Her face is badly marred with sores at the present.” She was known by locals for robbing drunks and disorderly conduct, but she had somehow developed a close bond with Stroud. The Daily Record also stated, “They were both degenerates and criminally inclined.”
Although the details of the incident remain vague and unclear, Stroud allegedly murdered the bartender using a .38 Colt revolver for failing to pay O’Brien (who he was pimping) for sex. After the murder, Stroud took the man’s wallet to ensure that he and the prostitute would receive compensation for her services. In 1911, Stroud was convicted of manslaughter and sent to serve out his sentence at USP McNeil Island in Washington State. During his trial, the Daily Record reported that Stroud “appeared to glory in the notoriety that he obtained by the killing.”
His inmate case file indicates that he was a violent and difficult prisoner to manage. While serving his sentence at USP McNeil Island, he viciously attacked another inmate. This resulted in his transfer to USP Leavenworth. In 1916, he murdered a Leavenworth guard, was convicted of first degree murder, and received a death sentence. His mother pled for his life, and in 1920, President Woodrow Wilson commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment.
The original telegram notifying the warden that Stroud’s execution was commuted.
An article pleading for an appeal for justice on behalf of Stroud, written by Della Jones.
It was Stroud’s violent behavior that earned him time in segregation. Over the course of Stroud’s thirty years of imprisonment at USP Leavenworth, he developed a keen interest in canaries, after finding an injured bird in the recreation yard. Stroud was initially allowed to breed birds and maintain a lab inside two adjoining segregation cells, since it was felt that this activity would provide for productive use of his time. As
a result of this privilege, Stroud was able to author two books on canaries and their diseases, having raised nearly 300 birds in his cells, carefully studying their habits and physiology, and he even developed and marketed remedies for various bird ailments. Although it is widely debated whether the remedies he developed were effective, Stroud was able to make scientific observations that would later benefit research on the canary species. However, after several years of Stroud’s informal research, prison officials discovered that some of the equipment he had requested was actually being used to construct a still to make an alcoholic brew.
Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942, where he spent the next 17 years (6 years in segregation in Block D and 11 years in the prison hospital).
Robert Stroud, circa 1909, USP McNeil Island.
Stroud at USP Leavenworth, circa 1912.
Robert Stroud, at USP Alcatraz in December 1942. Stroud spent the entire duration of his imprisonment on Alcatraz in isolation. He was never permitted to integrate into the general population.
Robert Stroud, official Alcatraz photo taken on October 29, 1951.
Stroud was confined in Block D from 1942 to 1948, residing in D-4 along the flats and cell-41, the second to last cell on right of the upper tier. Stroud remained in this location during the Battle of Alcatraz in 1946, surviving heavy gun and mortar fire while barricaded behind wet mattresses for cover.
Robert Stroud seen reading a book in his Alcatraz hospital ward cell. Stroud would remain isolated in this cell from 1948 until 1959. Initially Stroud was forced to use a bedpan to relieve himself until a toilet was installed in July 1956. Stroud spent 11 years locked down in this cell with only one weekly visit to the recreation yard, usually by himself. He would spend a total of 17 years on Alcatraz, with all of his time in a segregated status.
A contemporary photo of Stroud’s cell. It remains reminiscent of the period when he was secluded here. This area of the prison remains isolated with only limited public access to the hospital ward.
In 1959, he was transferred to the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri. On November 21, 1963, Stroud was found dead (from natural causes) by convicted spy, close friend, and former Alcatraz inmate Morton Sobell. Stroud had never been allowed to read the biography of his life story, and had never been permitted to see the movie in which Burt Lancaster portrayed him as a mild mannered and humane individual. Birdman of Alcatraz later earned Lancaster an Academy Award nomination for best actor. During the televised broadcast of the ceremonies in April 1963, Stroud was able to view a short movie clip of Lancaster’s portrayal as an aging Stroud. In one account, it was stated that when Lancaster lost the Oscar to Gregory Peck for his role in To Kill a Mockingbird, Stroud remained stoic and simply got up and headed off to bed. At the time of his death, he had served the longest term in solitary confinement than any other federal inmate in American history.
This collection is primarily comprised of correspondence written during Stroud’s incarceration while segregated at USP Leavenworth.
* * *
JANUARY 30TH
1915
Mr. Fred G. Zerbst,
Deputy Warden U. S. P.
Sir:-
Stroud Reg. No. 8154, is afflicted with chronic nephritis (Bright’s Disease) of a mild type, but sufficiently severe to necessitate his remaining in the hospital most of the winter months and during periods of inclement weather.
On account of the man’s disposition to be meddlesome and his inability to comply with the hospital rules in small matters, his presence is demoralizing, and I suggest that you give him quarters in the isolation building, at least temporarily, where he will be equally well housed and can be served his milk and medicine without detriment to his physical condition.
Respectfully,
A.F.W.
Physician.
* * *
ADDRESS REPLY TO
“THE ATTORNEY GENERAL”
AND REFER TO INITIALS AND NUMBER
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
WASHINGTON, D.C.
T.H.D.
July 8, 1916.
Mr. Thomas W. Morgan
Warden, United States Penitentiary,
Leavenworth, Kansas.
Sir:
For your information there is enclosed herewith a copy of a letter this day addressed to the United States Marshal at Topeka, Kansas, relative to the execution of prisoner Robert Stroud.
The Department thinks that a suitable place can be found for the execution within the prison enclosure and entirely out of sight of the prisoners. If the execution is fixed to take place early in the morning, say between midnight and 6 a.m., it would not disturb the daily routine of the institution and it would save locking up the prisoners, which would have to be done if the execution took place during the day.
Respectfully,
For the Attorney General,
Assistant Attorney General.
* * *
December 12, 1928
The Honorable E Lewis
U.S. Circuit Court
St. Louis, MO
Hon. Sir:
This is an appeal to you for a recommendation of executive clemency written by Robert F. Stroud whom it was your disagreeable duty once to sentence to death.
This appeal is not predicated upon your sentence of any kind, there is no desire to play upon your sympathies so all facts that would tend in that direction will be passed over lightly; though of necessity some must be touched upon, there are other facts that you will no doubt find more interesting; those will be treated in some detail.
When I found myself facing a sentence of life in solitary confinement, upon the commutation of my death sentence in 1920, I was somewhat downcast. To sneer at death is easy, but it is not easy to sneer at four blank walls of a cell, or at the face of men over you who are bitter because they have failed to bring about your destruction. It was under such circumstances that I faced the most difficult problem of such circumstances that I faced the most difficult problem of my life, the re-organization of my whole system of life and thought. I had contended at my trial that my act was justified I did not, or have I now, abandoned that contention, but I had from the very first realized that just or unjust it had been foolish and expensive. A lot of innocent persons have been made to suffer – no one had benefited. I left deeply upon this subject, for I believe that every man is fully responsible for the results of every act. He may not be able to discharge that responsibility, but he is morally obliged to make an effort to do so.
In this case the possibilities of doing anything in that direction looked absolutely hopeless. There was just one point which I was determined, and that was to incur no new obligations, and to do this even involved finding a way to earn money, for I had developed an intestinal trouble which made fruit and green food a necessity in my diet. This could be bought but I had no taste for them if the funds were to be supplied by my mother, who had reduced herself to the status of a factory hand to save money to save my unworthy life. By all these laws of right and justice it was my duty to try to make it the other way around. It was with these thoughts that I searched my environments for a means of converting my modest ability into an income. I don’t cite these reflections because they are to my credit; they are not. It is to my discredit that they did not put in an appearance much earlier in my life, before such mess had been made of things. They are only mentioned because they furnished the motivating impulse for my actions that followed.
My first efforts were of an artist nature. From a fellow prisoner I got a box of water color paint and a few pieces of bristle board. From these fancy greeting cards which were sent out to friends who disposed of them for me. These sales were disguised as gifts for at this time no prisoner was permitted to sell any object of his creation (It took some years of painstaking effort to change this rule). With the funds thus obtained better tools and materials were acquired just as fast the permission to have them could be obtained. This was not always easy f
or two factors had to be constantly considered. First; the animosity created by my four years battle for life had to be overcome, and second; it was necessary to avoid exciting the envy of jealousy of more indolent prisoners. You can be sure that I had to walk softly. The development of perfect self control was an absolute necessity.
Despite discouragement I made progress. With no great ability, I learned to draw and color, I progressed from water colors to oil and I managed to create salable pictures in both. My process of doing so was extremely laborious, however with what was lacking in the native skill had to be made up by patient work. This tolled upon the eyes and after six years of work had to be given up. It was given up without deep regret. It had served its purpose by financing my other effort.
When still under a sentence of death a book on canaries came into my hand. It was read with care. The possibilities of these delightful little creatures as a means of revenue greatly appealed to me. I could picture the long walls of my cell covered with the cages full of birds with many sales at good profit. This dream was confided to but few and those that did not it pronounced it a plan of madness. “How are you, whom they won’t even let have a pen point, going to get permission for all these things, how could you sell the birds if you had them?” I confess I did not know... I was logically hopeless, but refused to give up.
Letters from Alcatraz Page 23