Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [146]
James A. Boarman
James A. Boarman
James Arnold Boarman, a small time bank robber from Indianapolis was only twenty-four years old at the time of this ill-fated escape attempt. Born on November 3, 1919 in Whalen, Kentucky, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. His father, who had supported the family as a carpenter, died of an accidental drowning when James was only seven-years-old. His mother, relocated the family to Indiana where they would all share residence in a small apartment. Boarman attended St. Patrick’s Catholic School in Indianapolis and dropped-out to work as a gardener at age fourteen. His mother would later state that James always had brought his earnings home and never complained about the family’s financial troubles. Despite their hardships and their dependence on welfare support, his family was close and all worked together to help and support each other.
Boarman’s bouts with crime first began when he was still very young. In May of 1936 he stole his first automobile and after being arrested and placed on probation, he stole two other cars and headed for California with two accomplices. His mother pleaded his case in court, stating that she had been hospitalized due to illness and that he had lacked proper supervision when he needed it most. The court proved unsympathetic to her pleas and on January 30, 1937, Boarman was sentenced to three years in the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma.
Boarman and four other inmates plotted an escape from El Reno, and carried out their plan on September 9, 1937. A special progress report chronicled the events:
After arrest, he was taken to jail in Golden, Colorado, and while there involved in several fights. Also, in a scheme to effect his escape hid under a table in the jail and tried to jump a turn-key. While an inmate at El Reno, connived with four other inmates to escape from the institution. This was frustrated, but subject admitted his participation in the scheme, which was to climb a fence, seize the physician upon his arrival at the parking area, drive away in his car and hold him as hostage.
Boarman was recommended for transfer to a more secure prison facility, and was sent to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary on September 28, 1937. At Lewisburg he continued to assemble a record of conduct violations. The most significant of these was being found with an eight-inch dagger hidden in a magazine inside his cell. He apparently disclaimed ownership, stating that he was “just putting a handle on it.” His reports were all unfavorable, with one stating: “This inmate is a reckless, very unstable psychopath who is not material for rehabilitation. He has been making a very poor institutional adjustment and has had several disciplinary infractions of a serious nature.”
He was finally released from Lewisburg on December 15, 1939, and was immediately provided with employment by the... C.A. Radio Company. After a series of layoffs and re-hires by... C.A., he again emerged into the crime scene. He was later quoted in a progress report as saying: “When I come out of Lewisburg, I intended to go straight. I got me a job and did go straight. I lost that job, and couldn’t find another one for hell. I tried to join the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps and didn’t get in, so I went and got me a gun and started robbin’.” His probationofficer also documented his own attempts to help Boarman enlist in the Army, but apparently the recruiters felt that his criminal conduct made him unacceptable for the armed forces.
The following report describes Boarman’s character in the eyes of the correctional system, and the reasons for his transfer