Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years

by Michael Esslinger

  Associate Warden E.J. Miller suffered moderate burns to his face after his gas billy exploded during an altercation with one of the conspirators.

  Reinforcements were brought in from a variety of agencies and organizations. They included personnel from the Bureau of Prisons, law enforcement agencies, and the US Military.

  A correctional officer firmly warns an approaching vessel to maintain its distance.

  Johnston pulled out the cellblock diagrams and charted the areas that appeared to be secure and those that were now controlled by the inmates. Then he and Miller began to post officers at critical observation points, and to follow the prescribed protocol for securing the island. All of the resident off-duty officers were speedily armed and assigned to established posts on an anti-escape perimeter around the prison building. The prison launch was searched and then sent out to patrol on a 200-yard-wide security area around the island, with an armed officer onboard. The Control Room officer had been instructed to try to contact all of the off-duty guards who resided on the mainland. The inmates who were working at the dock and outside the normal security area were quickly marched to the prison industries work area at the northwest end of the island, under armed supervision. Specific measures had been taken to secure the inmates at work in the industries within their respective buildings, until more officers were available to facilitate their safe transfer to the recreation yard.

  Meanwhile inmates Coy, Hubbard, Cretzer, Thompson, Shockley and Carnes, desperate and without any alternative plans, found themselves in a stalemate. None of them knew exactly what their next step should be, but Coy, Cretzer, and Hubbard made it clear that they didn’t intend to be taken alive. Carnes would later comment that he was surprised at how casually they had talked about the possibility of dying. The trio made a pact that they would not surrender, and would try to stay alive for as long as possible, hoping to the end that some opportunity would arise for them to complete their escape. Coy headed off to cover the main entrance, as he knew that Miller would return with reinforcements to try to infiltrate the cellhouse.

  Hubbard remained at the entrance of D Block, talking with some of the inmates who were still wandering around. It was becoming more evident that the prison escapees would most likely be attacked with heavy gunfire, and so he started instructing the other inmates to return to their cells and take cover. With the sirens blaring and the distantly ringing phones echoing from various points in the cellhouse, Cretzer was starting to get panicky. He conveyed to the others that all of them would get “thechair” if Coy had killed any of the tower guards. He explained that if the guard staff was able to regain control, which would most likely be achieved by sheer brutal force, the hostages would certainly testify against them. Cretzer started pacing indecisively in front of the cells, and Shockley stood loyally by, awaiting Cretzer’s next directive. It was now becoming painfully clear that their escape had failed, and that the full wrath of the prison administration would soon fall upon them.

  It was later reported that Captain Weinhold tried to reason with Cretzer at this point, but this only seemed to agitate him even more. Weinhold tried to reason that every point of the island would soon be swarming with armed guards, and that the conspirators didn’t stand even a remote chance of escaping. There was also a well-known rule that the Prison Bureau would not trade the life of a hostage for the freedom of an inmate. This was a hard and fast policy in the prison system, which still exists today. Thompson had completely given up on opening the yard door, and Cretzer hesitantly floated the idea that they should rid themselves of their hostages. If they killed the captives, then no one could ever identify the ringleaders. Thompson stood in agreement – they simply could not afford to leave any witnesses. At this point Shockley became manic and started yelling in front of the cells, “shoot’em all dead, go ahead and kill’em!” Shockley couldn’t control his rage, and he repeatedly urged Cretzer to pull the trigger. Weinhold calmly appealed to Cretzer to be sensible, and to stop before anyone was hurt. But Cretzer, with little sign of emotion, walked to the front of cell #404, cocked the hammer on the .45, and pulled the trigger, shooting Captain Weinhold straight in the chest. Shockley’s cheers resonated throughout the cellhouse, screaming wildly: “shoot the fuckers dead!”

  A view of the blood-stained wall of cell #403, where four officers were shot in cold blood by Joseph Cretzer.

  Weinhold fell to the floor of the crowded cell as Cretzer, in a manic rage, again took aim and opened fire. A bullet struck Miller, ripping through his chest and exiting through his arm. Corwin was hit in the face and crumpled to the ground, bleeding profusely. As Cretzer coldly aimed and pulled the trigger in a series of staccato shots, the other officers fell to the floor in a mass of human carnage. Cretzer then pulled out the ammunition clip and slowly assessed the fallen officers. The captives in the next cell listened in horror as he methodically loaded bullets into the clip and then snapped it back into place. He walked to cell #403 and calmly raised the pistol between the bars, taking aim at the terrified officers and firing off several more rounds. The piercing sounds of gunfire rang through the cellhouse as Simpson took a bullet in the abdomen, and Baker fell to the floor as another shot hit his left leg, shattering his femur. Sundstrom lay cringing on the floor, expecting pain to riddle his body, but surprisingly the bullets had missed him. The officers lay on the floor of the cramped cells, waiting helplessly for the next flurry of bullets.

  Thompson and Shockley paced in front of the cells, watching for any signs of movement within. Finally Shockley yelled that he saw a “screw” moving, and begged Cretzer for the gun to finish him off. Cretzer walked to the front of cell #404 where Ernie Lageson bravely emerged from among the wounded officers, trying to calm the irrational inmates. Cretzer made some surprisingly positive comments to the others about how well he got along with Lageson, adding that perhaps he should be spared. But Shockley and Thompson demanded that no witnesses should remain. If Lageson survived, he would make sure that each one of them received the death penalty, so Lageson could not be spared. Cretzer raised the pistol to Lageson’s head, stating simply, “I’m really sorry, Mr. Lageson,” as he firmly pulled the trigger. Stillness spread over the cells and pools of blood started to saturate the cement floors.

  As Cretzer peered into the cells he could still see some movement, and he heard a few muffled moans from what appeared to be Baker and Simpson, still alive and in terrible pain. Again he raised the pistol and clipped in a few more rounds, then fired. The cell was still once more, with patches of dense smoke slowly dissipating into a fogged haze. Coy had heard the barrage of gunfire, and he appeared at the front of the cells, observing the aftermath of Cretzer’s mass execution. Weinhold was completely unconscious and unresponsive, due to a large bore bullet wound that had torn straight through his body and left him bleeding profusely on the cell floor. But Lageson had only been slightly grazed with a minor burn to his left ear, and he covertly lifted his head to assess his surroundings. Corwin’s condition appeared critical; he had clearly been struck in the facial area, as his jaw was grimly deformed. Burdette and Bristow had both escaped injury. Miller was unconscious, and his condition was also extremely critical. He lay bleeding from a gaping wound, and his breathing was labored and shallow. In the other cell, Sundstrom was completely uninjured, and was attempting to lie as still as possible on the floor of the cell. Simpson and Baker had both been hit again during Cretzer’s frightening attack. Simpson was unconscious and immobile, and Baker was lying immobile, praying that Cretzer would not fire again.

  Carnes was now armed with the butcher knife that Hubbard had taken from the kitchen, and he was directed by Cretzer to stand watch at the cell fronts. Cretzer sharply ordered him to go in and “cut their throats” if he noticed any movement. Carnes peered into the cells, carefully watching over the officers, who were lying amid the murky pools of blood. As he looked intently at each officer, he soon noticed slight breathing movements. But when Coy and Cretzer returned and asked him
if the captives were all dead, Carnes risked his safety by assuring his accomplices that Cretzer’s bullets had killed them all. The inmates then walked off, discussing the strategy of their next move. Carnes and Thompson realized that their cause was hopeless, and jointly pleaded with the others that they didn’t stand a chance without weapons, and that they wanted to return to their cells for shelter. Carnes and Thompson then wished the trio luck, and headed back to find open cells in which to take cover. They would both carefully attempt to wash the officers’ blood from their clothes, hopeful that no one would identify them as having played a role in the escape attempt.

  Back in the bloody cell, Ernie Lageson carefully looked up, and seeing that no one was watching over them, he slowly reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pencil. On the cell wall he inscribed the names of Cretzer, Coy, Carnes, Hubbard, Thompson and Shockley. He then circled the names of Cretzer, Coy, and Hubbard, and placed a check next to Cretzer’s. The list was written indistinctly but legibly on the cell wall, and was clear enough to serve as evidence if the guards were all killed. The circled names indicated the ringleaders, and the check mark would leave no question as to who had committed the murders.

  Officer Lageson had the foresight to scrawl the names of the conspiring inmates on the cell wall, circling the names of the ringleaders. This would prove to be a key piece of evidence in the trial of the surviving inmates.

  (Author’s note: It has also been argued that it was Officer Carl Sundstrom who inscribed the names on the cell wall. Armory Officer Clifford Fish vehemently insisted that Sundstrom had told him immediately after being rescued from the cellhouse that he had performed this act. I have been unable to find any other references that provided proof of this argument, but Fish’s account should also be considered, as he seemed adamant about this fact, and his recollections of events were usually exceptionally precise. For the sake of accuracy, it should also be noted that a feature article in the San Francisco Chronicle [May 5, 1946, p. 8] reported that Sundstrom had first made notations on a blank piece of white paper, and had then inscribed on the cell floor: “Cretzer killed or shot Joe Simpson in the stomach and chest twice and shot Baker also. He missed me so far.” It is possible that these two details have been confused, and that Lageson was actually responsible for the wall inscription.)

  Cretzer, Hubbard, and Coy then started toward C Block, entering the utility corridor and cautiously ascending the array of plumbing pipes and electrical conduits. After making the climb and reaching the top, each inmate carefully perched himself so as to have a clear view of the entryway, with the intention of eliminating as many officers as possible. The inmates probably considered this as the most strategic platform from which to monitor all the activities of the assault teams that were sure to come. The cellhouse had descended into an eerie quiet. The sirens had stopped wailing, and the ringing phones had finally gone still. Most of the inmates had returned to their cells, and the noise level had flattened into a dead silence, broken occasionally by the screech of a passing seagull.

  It was approximately 2:45 p.m., and Lieutenant Phil Bergen was enjoying a quiet day off with his wife on the mainland, while his two daughters were still in school. By now, news of the Alcatraz “blast out” was spreading around San Francisco, with most of the facts terribly exaggerated by the newscasters. When Bergen heard the news, he immediately found a phone and contacted Cliff Fish in the Armory. Fish stated that there was little information that had been confirmed, but that they could identify one of the attempted escapees as Bernie Coy. They also knew that Bernie was armed with a .30-06 Springfield, which he had somehow managed to seize from Bert Burch in the gun gallery. Fish further explained that he and his colleagues had been unable to contact any of the officers within the cellhouse, with the exception of Stucker in the basement and the hospital officer, who hadn’t been aware that there were problems downstairs. Bergen immediately reported to Pier #4 at Fort Mason, where Coast Guard cutters were standing by to carry off-duty officers who were reporting back to the island.

  As the reserve officers reported for duty, they were immediately readied and posted at various points around the prison. Prior to Bergen’s arrival, two officers had been sent to take up positions in the East Gun Gallery, and Officers Harold P. Stitesand Joe Maxell had been posted to the west side. But as soon as the two officers attempted to enter the west end of the gallery, they were immediately faced with a barrage of gunfire and were forced back out. They did however manage to fire off a few rounds, and to throw two tear gas grenades through the gallery bars and onto the cellhouse floor. It was evident that they would be unable to enter without sending in an assault team to do battle with the inmates, and to take the gallery by force.

  Correctional Officer Harold P. Stites who was tragically killed by friendly fire in the West Gun Gallery in D-Block.

  By the time the 3:45 p.m. launch arrived at the island, the boat had transported enough officers to begin the slow process of moving the inmates who were still secured in the Industries up to the recreation yard. Prison officers organized supply details that helped to bring up several bales of blankets from the prison laundry. The recreation yard was set up to give as much shelter to the inmates as was possible under the circumstances. The San Francisco Chapter of the Red Cross, headed by Robert S. Elliot, was contacted for support. They started to put together supplies of sandwiches, coffee, water and cigarettes to serve to the inmates and the riot support personnel alike, since it was unclear when the guards would be able to regain control of the cellhouse and restore order. There were even some delicacies provided to the inmates, such as potato chips and filtered cigarettes. Federal agents were now beginning to arrive, and several men were assigned to positions on the yard wall catwalk. They were instructed to keep a close eye on the recreation yard inmate population, and sharpshooters stood ready to suppress any gunfire that might originate from the kitchen areas.

  The American Red Cross was enlisted to assist the families as they were slowly evacuated from the island.

  Johnston quickly put together a planning conference with Associate Warden Miller and a few of the lieutenants. The group started a painstaking review of all the available officer counts, and all of the status updates from Officers Virgil Cochenour and John Mullen, who had been monitoring the activities in the cellhouse from their positions in the East End Gallery. Isaak Faulk, who was normally in charge of the tower officers, had set up headquarters with Officer Fish in the Armory. Lieutenant George Boatman offered his assistance in rescuing the captive officers, and started designating support assignments to those just arriving. Ike Faulk was already aware that at least one of his tower officers had been injured, and with Boatman’s assistance, he devised a plan for the Federal agents to provide cover while the prison officers climbed the towers to rescue their comrades. Hill Tower Officer Besk was found lying on the floor, and was quickly given first aid, having lost a large amount of blood.

  Lieutenant Isaak Faulk

  Lieutenant George Boatman

  Warden Johnston’s Secretary, Walter Bertrand

  With several vessels from the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the San Francisco Police now patrolling the waters, word was spreading that something very bad was unfolding on Alcatraz, so Johnston broke the twelve-year silence and decided to make a formal public announcement about the current events. Johnston and his Secretary, Walter Bertrand, stood in the Armory and started delivering the solemn news to the world. The first Teletype messages were sent to BOP Director James Bennett, the... B.I., and finally to Western Union, which would communicate the grave news to all of the press associations in the following telegram:

  Serious Trouble... Convict has machine gun in cellhouse... Have issued riot call... Placed armed guards at strategic locations... Many of our officers are imprisoned in the cellhouse... Cannot tell extent of injuries suffered by our officers or amount of damage done... Will give you more information later in the day when we can control... J.A. Johnston, Warden, Alcatraz. />
  Formal planning was then initiated to discuss the rescue of the captive officers. Warden Johnston assigned Lieutenants Phil Bergen and Frank Johnson to organize and lead the assault team. There were few updates coming from the officers now posted in the East Gallery, who reported only that there was virtually no activity on the cellhouse floor. The island’s residents had started to take cover, and most had barricaded themselves inside their apartments. There were several others who secured themselves in the air-raid shelter, which had been established during World War II following the Japanese bombing raid on Pearl Harbor. Mutual aid plans had been initiated, and eleven correctional officers from McNeil and five from Leavenworth were boarding planes to San Francisco. Johnston had arranged to have them flown to Hamilton Field, and from there they were quickly driven to Sausalito and then transferred to Alcatraz by what the Warden termed as “crash boats. ” Many of those who volunteered to come to San Francisco had worked on the island, and were familiar with the landscape and the posts.