Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [141]
When first brought in he was greatly confused but partly conscious and complained of pain in the left leg which was broken, and of being cold. Later on during the morning he was restless in bed and would rally to look around him but made no statement or gave any indication that he understood the situation more than to realize at time his own precarious physical condition. Everything possible was done to improve his condition and Dr. E. M. Townsend of the U.S. Marine Hospital was called in consultation. During the afternoon he became more restless and confused and was constantly rolling about in bed. His circulation became weaker more rapidly during the afternoon and his breathing more labored and it was realized that he probably would not survive the night. A Spinal Puncture revealed a large amount of blood in the cranial cavity resulting from a skull fracture. His condition showed little change after 3:00 P.M. until 5:30 P.M. when he became rapidly worse and in spite of stimulants died at 5:40 P.M.
Cause of Death: Fracture of Skull
Doc Barker’s father could not afford to have his son brought back to Oklahoma. Warden Johnston arranged for a small formal service and burial in Colma, California, where ironically several other celebrity crime figures have been laid to rest, including the famous old-west lawman Wyatt Earp. Services for Barker were held on January 17th at the Lasswell Funeral Parlor, and he was laid to rest in a pauper’s grave in the Mount Olivet Cemetery late that afternoon. Protestant Chaplain Wayne Hunter wrote a memo to Johnston stating that the only people in attendance were a prison clerk, two men from the funeral parlor, the manager of the cemetery, and four other cemetery employees.
The only unusual occurrence reported was that when Barker’s casket was being prepared to be driven to the cemetery, a drunk staggered into the funeral parlor and yelled out only one word, “Barker.” When asked what he wanted, he turned around and walked out.
Doc’s grave was marked only with his Alcatraz inmate number, #268.
A telegram from Barker’s father asking that his son be buried in San Francisco.
Stamphill’s wounds proved serious but not fatal and he would remain in the hospital until April 8, 1939. He was subsequently transferred to isolation, and was kept there until August 3, 1940, when he was released back into the general prison population. The experience of the escape attempt seemed to have changed Stamphill; from then on he would maintain a fairly clear conduct record and he held several jobs in various departments at Alcatraz. Stamphill was approved for transfer to Leavenworth in 1950, and he remained there until his parole in 1956. Once paroled, Stamphill started a small tax preparation and business accounting firm, which kept him out of trouble for nearly ten years. He married, but soon after started having personal and business problems that ultimately led to severe debt, and he eventually would violate his parole following another burglary. He was returned to Leavenworth and released several years later. He died in September of 1998 in Kansas City following complications from a stroke.
A coroner’s inquest conducted by Coroner... B.W. Leland following the death of Doc Barker resulted in a deluge of negative press about the security practices at Alcatraz. Associate Warden Edward J. Miller appeared as the sole witness in the inquest. Miller admitted that the officers on duty could have been asleep during the escape and that they were “definitely not alert. ” However he did make it clear that the officers were required to call the Armory every half hour, which made it seem very unlikely that they were taking a nap during the time period when the inmates had escaped from D Block. Miller testified that no saws had been found, and no trace of filings or any material which might have been used to conceal the progress of work on the iron bars. The instrument that had been used to force the