Reopen Alcatraz? Why Not?

Yesterday, Trump posted on Truth Social,

REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. . . . That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.

According to the US Bureau of Prisons,

The U.S. Army used the island for more than 80 years--from 1850 until 1933, when the island was transferred to the U.S. Department of Justice for use by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Federal Government had decided to open a maximum-security, minimum-privilege penitentiary to deal with the most incorrigible inmates in Federal prisons, and to show the law-abiding public that the Federal Government was serious about stopping the rampant crime of the 1920s and 1930s.

While several well-known criminals, such as Al Capone, George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis (the first "Public Enemy #1"), and Arthur "Doc" Barker did time on Alcatraz, most of the prisoners incarcerated there were not well-known gangsters, but prisoners who refused to conform to the rules and regulations at other Federal institutions, who were considered violent and dangerous, or who were considered escape risks.

. . . But while USP Alcatraz was not the "America's Devil's Island" that books and movies often portrayed, it was designed to be a prison system's prison.

. . . Once prison officials felt a man no longer posed a threat and could follow the rules (usually after an average of five years on Alcatraz), he could then be transferred back to another Federal prison to finish his sentence and be released.

On March 21, 1963, USP Alcatraz closed after 29 years of operation. . . . because the institution was too expensive to continue operating. An estimated $3-5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open. That figure did not include daily operating costs - Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison (in 1959 the daily per capita cost at Alcatraz was $10.10 compared with $3.00 at USP Atlanta).

Although this account stresses the internal penological function Alcatraz served in the prison system, it nevertheless acknowledges that it was established in part "to show the law-abiding public that the Federal Government was serious about stopping the rampant crime of the 1920s and 1930s". Trump has an instinct for the public gesture, and his intent here is pretty clearly to reinstate the image of Alcatraz as the paradigmatic destination for notorious offenders, whether or not the Bureau of Prisons sees the internal need for such a thing in its operation.

I think Trump fully recognizes the tendency to romanticize criminality in certain segments of society -- look at how Luigi Mangione has been lionized for allegedly shooting an insurance executive in the back on a New York street, or the acclaim given to Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly facilitating the attempted escape of an illegal migrant from federal agents in the courthouse hallway. Even if the existing federal supermax facilities might be fully suited to the Bureau of Prisons's purpose, Trump sees an additional purpose in publicly stressing an intent to enforce the law.

After all, Alcatraz is an image that's had remarkable staying power in the public imagination, fed by Hollywood. According to the San Francisco Public Library,

Shortly after Alcatraz opened as a federal prison in 1934, its career as a setting for movies began. From "Alcatraz Island" (1937) through "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962) Hollywood depicted life on the isolated island. After the prison closed in 1963, a new era began. "Point Blank" (1967) was the first to film there, followed by such memorable titles as "The Enforcer" (1974) "Escape from Alcatraz" (1979), "The Rock" (1996) and "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006).

This site lists 21 movies and 14 television shows that have featured Alcatraz. Trump is taking an existing paradigm and re-emphasizing it to stress a new determination to enforce the law. This is consistent with what I noted last month, that the Trump administration is restoring a J Edgar Hoover-style media presence for law enforcement.

There are already objections to the cost of reopening and operating Alcatraz:

Everything costs something. Alcatraz as a paradigm is priceless.