Are They Still Alive?
By AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16676)
Boston, Massachusetts
October 12, 2015 6:44am CST
Escape From Alcatraz - Did you ever see this 1979 movie with Clint Eastwood? It tells the true story of three inmates who concoct a brilliant plan to escape the infamous island prison of Alcatraz. It’s a pretty good movie and the story behind it is fascinating. The men escaped in a raft that they constructed secretly out of raincoats and kept hidden. No trace of the three men has ever been found, and it has been assumed that they drowned, thus keeping Alcatraz’s record of no escapes unbroken.
However, that assumption is being challenged by members of the family of two of the escapees - brothers John and Clarence Anglin. They say that the mother of the two brothers received a Christmas card three years after the escape, proving that they survived. The FBI determined that the handwriting on the card matched the escaped prisoners. The family also has a photo that they say is definitive proof. More information will be revealed on a program airing on the History channel tonight.
I know that I shouldn’t be rooting for criminals, and perhaps somewhere in my mind, one of them looks like Clint Eastwood, but I rather hope they did make it and are alive. The planning and execution of their escape was flawless, they managed something no one else ever had. The men would be in their eighties now, I say pardon them and let them come home and tell their story. I would love to hear it.
What do you think? Did they survive the escape attempt? If they did, can we call off the life sentences and just let bygones be bygones? Or do you think that if found, they should be returned to prison?
http://nypost.com/2015/10/10/relatives-have-proof-alcatraz-escapees-are-still-alive/
15 people like this
15 responses
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
12 Oct 15
There were some bones found washed ashore once, and they've now ruled out the possibility that they belonged to one of the Anglins, because they did DNA testing with relatives. But they could have been Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood) because they can't rule that out, he has no living relatives to get DNA from.
3 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (54714)
• United States
12 Oct 15
It depends on what they were in prison for.
3 people like this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
12 Oct 15
if they survived they may not be alive now. The break out was in 1962 the year I was born, and I am 53 - the photos from their arrests show men in their 30's and 40's.
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
12 Oct 15
This would be something my husband would be interested in, I'll have to ask him.
3 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
12 Oct 15
no, we prob shouldn't be rooting for the criminals but.... I think many hope they made it. That much work? They almost deserve to have made it. Mythbusters I think proved it would have been super hard, but possible, albeit unlikley
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23979)
• United Kingdom
15 Jan 17
If they did make it they have obviously turned their lives around as they have never been caught again, I am not sure if I would give a pardon especially if they had murdered a loved one of mine! It would be interesting to find out if they did survive the treacherous tides of San Francisco bay. It is a fascinating story nevertheless.
@Fleura (34927)
• United Kingdom
13 Oct 15
Interesting stuff! That's a difficult question, they already served some years in prison so maybe they deserve another chance? And the plot was certainly well planned and executed. It seems odd they left their personal effects (whatever they were) on the raft though. I've been to Alcatraz, it doesn't look so far to the mainland but apparently the currents are treacherous.
1 person likes this
