Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [100]
- C.J. Shuttleworth, Deputy Warden.
Young would be identified as one of the leaders of the general work strike and three days later he was written up as “a noisemaker, insolent, and constantly trying to keep other prisoners from going to work.” Henri Young had solidified his reputation as a troublemaker and his antics were infuriating to the correctional staff. He would routinely yell threats, bang his tin cup against the cell bars, and throw items (including feces) from his cell.
After spending almost four years on Alcatraz, Young joined in a failed escape attempt with fellow inmates Doc Barker, Dale Stamphill, William Martin and Rufus McCain, on January 13, 1939. Young acted as a lookout while Martin and McCain quickly cut through the bars – the same bars that had been termed tool-proof. The attempted escape resulted in significant injuries of Stamphill and the shooting death of Barker. Rumors began circulating through the prison that at the last moment, McCain had revealed that he couldn’t swim just when they made it to the water’s edge, and had begged to turn back as soon as they launched their makeshift raft in the rough bay waters.
Young and the other conspirators were placed in the upper solitary cells in A Block. An entry in Young’s conduct report states that he was moved from A Block to D Block isolation cell #587 on January 27, 1939, with continued loss of all his privileges. An official hearing on the escape resulted in Young forfeiting all 2,400 days of his statutory good time. His record does indicate a brief period in which no disciplinary action was taken. This lasted until July 9, 1939, when he again incited a disturbance, which was described as follows: “Loud yelling, pounding, cursing and attempting to throw water upon an officer. This prisoner was yelling and pounding the front of his cell with the frame of his bed.”
Henri Young’s cell in the Solitary Confinement Unit, located on the upper tier of A Block. This photograph was used during Young’s murder trial, in an attempt to illustrate the harsh confinement practices at Alcatraz.
Contemporary photos showing the interior of the upper A-Block solitary confinement cells.
Attorney James MacInnis is seen here on the upper tier of A Block, examining the closed-front solitary confinement cells.
Rufus McCain, the Alcatraz inmate murdered by Henri Young.
Rufus McCain
Rufus Roy McCain was a thirty-seven-year-old offender who seemed to share many traits in common with Henri Young. McCain was the youngest of seven children. His mother died of an unknown illness when he was only five years old and his father remarried two years later, and moved the family to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. McCain’s Alcatraz records reflect that he didn’t get along with his stepmother, whom he later claimed had mistreated him, and that as a result he was constantly in conflict with his family. He left home at the age of eighteen and took a job in the oil fields as a driller. McCain claimed to have lived a normal life in a middle class household, working for the same company until he was thirty-two years of age. His file indicates that he drank liquor frequently, and that his only recreational activity was watching motion picture shows.
McCain’s first brush with crime occurred in 1931, when he robbed some Indian gravesites, taking valuable relics including jewelry and ceremonial artifacts. For this crime he was sentenced to serve one year at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. McCain’s prison time was served uneventfully and upon his release, he was unable to find employment. In late 1932, he robbed a bank, hoping to secure enough money to live comfortably until he could find work. He then committed another bank robbery in Oklahoma, and was quickly captured and sentenced to serve twelve years in the Arkansas Penitentiary. Rufus McCain was considered by the prison staff to be very resourceful, and he