Alcatraz 1868 1963 Author:John Godwin Alcatraz is Spanish for "pelican." But to the prison's inmates it was "The Rock" -- 12 acres of hell surrounded by fog and swirling, icy water. Nobody ever escaped from it alive, the authorities say, though five men who tried were never found. Its inmates were the traitors and killers, the racketeers and gunmen society felt it could not conta... more »in in its ordinary prisons. So on "The Rock" a super cage was constructed; concepts like reform and rehabilitation were dumped overboard. There were 100 guards for 262 prisoners and no privileges. "The Rock" was the last step of a penology manifested by bars and walls. It was a tacit admission that the nation's regular jails were not able to cope with her outlaws. But in the end, its walls had crumbled so that three prisoners were able to dig their way out with a spoon.« less