A Lie from Beginning to End

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Ok, here you go. This excerpt is from Crime Magazine. A source not connected with the Bureau of Prisons, The National Park Service, The Alcatraz Alumni Association or any other agency with any motive to cover up anything. Here's the website if you care to check out the validity of it being in the article:

http://crimemagazine.com/alcatraz.htm

"In 1941, Henry Young went on trial for the murder of fellow inmate Rufus McCain, his accomplice in a failed escape. Young's attorney's inaccurately claimed that Young had been the subject of continual beatings by guards and had undergone extensive periods of being left in extreme isolation. Young's story was again inaccurately depicted in the movie staring Kevin Bacon and Christen Slater, titled Murder in the First. The movie claimed Young was a teenage orphan who was sentenced to Alcatraz for stealing $5 from a grocery store in order to feed his starving sister, and that he "never harmed or attempted to harm anyone" before entering Alcatraz.

"The true story is that he was a bank robber who had taken and brutalized a hostage and committed murder in 1933 – some three years before being incarcerated at Alcatraz. At Alcatraz, Young was a difficult inmate who challenged and provoked fights with several other inmates, including Joe Crezter, who was considered a violence risk, and who later murdered two Alcatraz guards during an escape attempt. Young and his eventual murder victim, McCain, had both spent nearly 22 months in solitary confinement for a failed escape that ended in the shooting death of public enemy Doc Barker.

"After Young and McCain returned to the normal prison population, McCain was assigned to the tailoring shop and Young to the Furniture Shop located directly upstairs. On Dec. 3, 1940, Young waited until just after the 10 a.m. count to run downstairs and plunge a knife into McCain. McCain fell quickly into shock and died five hours later. Young refused to disclose his motive for the murder.

"During Young’s trial his attorneys made the claim that because Young had been held in strict isolation for three years that he could not be held responsible for his violent action.

"Warden Johnston was brought in under subpoena to testify on prison conditions and policies. In addition, several inmates were subpoenaed to testify on the environment of Alcatraz and many recounted the "rumors" they had heard of inmates being locked in dungeons and severely beaten by guards. They also testified that they knew of many inmates who "went crazy" because of such treatment. The jury sympathized with Young, convicting him of manslaughter, which resulted in only a few years being added to his sentence. Young continued to be a difficult inmate following his trial and was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners at Springfield, Mo. After serving out his federal sentence in 1954, he was sent to Washington State Penitentiary and released on parole in 1972 after nearly 40 years in prison. He finally jumped parole; it is unknown whether he is still alive."

Please note that this exerpt debunks the following:

1. That Young stole $5 from a post office to feed his sister.
2. That Young was a model prisoner "never harmed or attempted to harm anyone" before being transferred to Alcatraz.
3. That Young spent time in a "dungeon." He was kept in solitary confinement, a huge difference which includes a cot, toilet, sink, lighting, etc.
4. That Young died on Alcatraz. As I stated a long time ago, Young was sent to the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, MO. He finished his federal sentence in 1954 and was remanded to Washington State Authorities and was released on parole in 1972 and jumped parole. Althought he'd be in his 90's, Young may still be alive today.

All of this is just as I have been trying to tell you. Once you break down, completely, a few of the "facts" of the movie, then all the "facts" must come into question, including:

1. He was sentenced to Alcatraz. Nobody was sentenced to Alcatraz. Prisoners had to fail on multiple levels before being transferred to Alcatraz.
2. That Young was sent to Alcatraz to justify its existence. In fact, Alcatraz was never close to being full and no attempt was made to fill it. One entire cellblock was never used. Getting criminals such as Al Capone, Doc Barker, Creepy Carpis, Robert Stroud and, yes, Henri Young off the streets was all the justification Alcatraz needed.
3. That Young was driven insane in segregation and murdered McCain within minutes of being released to the population. The murder occured about a year later.
4. That Warden Johnston was warden of San Quentin, Folsom and Alcatraz simultaneously and seldom visited Alcatraz letting, instead, an Associate Warden run the facility. That is impossible. San Quentin and Folsom are California State. Alcatraz was Federal. The Warden lived on the island in a house provided him and was there every day he wasn't on vacation.
5. That Young was brutalized by Gary Oldman's character, including slashing his achilles tendon. As I said, I have Young's central file which includes a medical report when he arrived at Springfield. There was no cut tendon.

Your move, "prettygirl4BCC" and all the rest of you who have doubted the truth about Henri Young and chose to believe the lies told in "Murder in the First." I've proved that the most important parts of the movie, the very foundations if you will, aren't true, from an independent source. If the beginning of the movie, that is, that he stole $5 from a post office to feed his sister, and the end of the movie, that he died on Alcatraz, aren't true, then the whole basis for the movie, and everything in between, crumbles under the weight of suspicion and lack of evidence.

Yeah, you're right about Amittyville. It wasn't based on Gein, sorry. But yes, Silence of the Lambs, Psycho, and Chainsaw were. Sorry about that, my mistake. And yes, the movie has excellent acting, and an excellent story, I simply don't agree with people getting mad at the filmmakers because of a line of text at the beginning of the film that may not be entirely true.

Sorry about that.

The "escapes" drew attention to the fact that the structure was, literally, falling apart. The movie, Escape from Alcatraz, was a very good one which got the facts straight (proving a prison movie can be true and still be good). It showed that some inmates got through the concrete of their cells with primitive tools. That's how soft the mortar had become due to the moisture and salt air, hence the closing. Technology had moved past more traditional means of confinement. I put escapes in parenthesis because while it is true some inmates got out of the cellblock, and off the island, none were ever seen on the mainland. I've never said it wasn't a good movie. It is riveting, well acted and filmed. It just isn't anything close to the truth.

While I agree this film is good and I enjoyed it, to claim "based on" a true story, or the less offensive "inspired by" a true story, and then proceed to completely distort the facts is socially irresponsible. Film is great way to give historical events and issues a newer and wider audience, thereby increasing public awareness. It doesn't matter if people SHOULD remember it's a movie, not everyone will. And why should they when they are being lead to believe the events in the movie really happend? No sane person believes E.T. happend, nor would they even with the claim of true story. No sane person believes Cast Away happend, it's just a great story of survival of the human spirit. Unlike E.T. however, Cast Away is plausible, and if given a claim of true story, rational people are lead to believe the movie depicts actual events. The movie makers who commit this deceptive practice are motivated by self-serving purposes. They want to generate greater interest and therefore lie to the public to increase their profits. This movie took too much of real life and important historical events to be given a fictional license. There were dungeons used in Alcatraz that were shut down after Henry Young's trial. The public became more aware of prison practices and changes were made. No exaggeration was needed, nor was it necessary for the filmmakers to make Young a completely sympathetic character. Even more unnecessary, giving Young's lawyer the last name Stamphill, when it was actually McGuiness. Stamphill was the last name of one of Young's accomplices in his attempted escape.
PS-To the poster who mentioned the Amityville Horror. This story was actually based on Ronald DeFeo murdering his entire family in Amityville, NY. and the account of hauntings by the Lutz family who moved into the DeFeo home afterwards.