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• The families of the Anglin brothers stated that the escape had been a topic of family discussions for several years. None of them have ever been contacted by the brothers, and they felt that had the inmates survived, they would have made contact in some form. The Anglin family would soon suffer yet another tragedy. The third brother, Alfred, was electrocuted on a high-voltage security wire when attempting to escape from Kilby Prison in Montgomery, Alabama in 1964.

Allen West remained at Alcatraz until February of 1963, leaving only one month before the prison’s final closing. He then continued his journey through the Federal penal system until he was eventually released in 1967, in the state of Florida. His taste of freedom was brief, and he quickly landed himself back in prison less than a year later. In 1972 West fatally stabbed another inmate, and thus permanently sealed his fate, condemning himself to a life in prison. Allen West died of peritonitis in the Florida State Prison hospital in December of 1978, at only forty-nine years of age.

The mystery is still being explored decades after the Great Escape, and it is unlikely that anyone will ever be able to prove with absolute certainty whether Morris and the Anglins found death or freedom. Frank Morris wrote in an institutional questionnaire in 1943 that if he were granted three wishes, he would wish for the following:

1. To get out of prison.

2. A nice home with everything to go with it.

3. Plenty of money.

He was granted only one.

ESCAPE ATTEMPT #14

Date:

December 16, 1962

Inmates:

John Paul Scott

Daryl Lee Parker

Location:

Kitchen Basement

By December of 1962, plans had already been set in motion to close the prison due to crippling costs and structural deterioration of the main cellhouse. Decades of exposure to the harsh salt ocean air had taken its toll on the prison. The last attempted escape at Alcatraz may have been facilitated by the dilapidated state of the prison facilities. In any case, it finally demonstrated that with properly constructed floats and a favorable current, it was technically possible for an inmate to enter the icy Bay waters and paddle to the mainland. John Paul Scott and Daryl Parker were two of the tough incorrigibles that Alcatraz was designed to cage, but they proved that even The Rock was not invulnerable to a well-planned prison break.

John Paul Scott was a university educated bank robber of the modern era. His inmate file details a multitude of bank heists, dramatic prison breaks, and spectacular shootouts with police. Like Scott, Daryl Lee Parker’s attempted escape at Alcatraz would be merely a brief episode in a lifelong diary of crime. In this chapter, the stories of John Paul Scott and Daryl Lee Parker are illustrated through firsthand reports and inmate records that chronicle their lives in prison as well as their various escape attempts.

Daryl Lee Parker

Daryl Lee Parker

Parker’s transfer order to Alcatraz.

An entry in a 1967 classification study report recounts the early life of Daryl Parker, and it includes a letter from his mother describing his childhood:

Daryl’s childhood was normal. He was number five of a family of eight children. No bad habits like drinking or smoking early in life. At age of twelve to fourteen he began taking bottles and cashing them in for spending money. The habit of thievery grew rapidly with it ending in your institution. Daryl was a beautiful baby and much loved by his brothers and sisters. Therefore, might have been spoiled somewhat. He was sent to the Boys Industrial School at the end of eighth grade. He also entered Timkin Vocational and finished all but two credits in high school. He lost out in Industrial School there being a war on and a shortage of math teachers. He took printing in Timkin Vocational School. After this he worked at Isaly’s Dairy store and he married Margaret Davis, also of Tinkin Vocational School, in a church here in Canton. There were no children. His father, Howard, is a foreman at