The US penitentiary on Alcatraz opened in 1934. The Federal Bureau of Prisons maintained the facility to incarcerate a small number of inmates who were so dangerous, so violent, and so escape-prone that they could not be managed safely in other prisons. By holding these difficult inmates in one place, the Bureau could keep them under tight control and run its other prisons more safely and effectively. Without the most disruptive inmates, the Bureau developed pioneering rehabilitation programs at its other facilities. Alcatraz inmates seldom numbered more than three hundred at any time.

The Bureau of Prisons closed Alcatraz in 1963. Operations were too expensive, as supplies, fuel, and fresh water had to be barged to the island. Buildings were crumbling and would soon be uninhabitable. The prison’s unusual location encouraged a circus atmosphere, with tour boats circling the island and wild myths about life at Alcatraz being publicized in books and movies. A modern prison in Illinois replaced Alcatraz.

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