Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [5]
After reading my books from cover-to-cover, I began plotting my first visit to the island. I had prepared for my excursion by studying the various escape attempts, the lives of former inmates such as Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly and the chilling personal accounts of these and others that that were said to be the “rogues of society.” During the first years when the island was open to the public, National Parks Service employees guided all of the visitor tours. As we hiked up the steep path to the cellhouse, I remember the stillness of the surroundings, broken only by the occasional screeches of passing seagulls. The misted smell of the ocean was thick and almost tropic. As the ranger guided us past the dimly lit cells, I lagged behind, blending into the shadows, absorbed by the incredible history of the now abandoned prison.
The highlight of my trip was meeting a former inmate who had come to the island to talk with visitors and to describe the eighteen years during which he had lived on “the Rock” as inmate #AZ-714. Clarence Carnes had been involved in a disastrous attempt at armed robbery at only fifteen. When a gas station attendant challenged Carnes and fought to disarm him, the young delinquent pulled the trigger and changed his life’s destiny in a matter of only seconds. Carnes was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and he arrived on Alcatraz at the young age of only eighteen. One year later he participated in what would be considered the island’s most significant and catastrophic escape attempt, which would ultimately result in five tragic deaths. For his role in the escape and the murder of a correctional officer by a co-conspirator, Carnes received an additional ninety-nine years which was added to the life sentence he was already serving. His codefendants would receive the death penalty, and would later be executed sitting side-by-side in San Quentin’s gas chamber. He would therefore spend the vast majority of his life behind bars.
Seeing Carnes in person, I was amazed at how much he had changed since his arrival mug shot photos on Alcatraz were taken. As I asked questions, his responses were terse and consistently evasive. He would respond by showing our group where an incident occurred, but avoided any details. He would simply nod as the National Park Ranger highlighted historical details and then would look away. I was also intrigued by his claim that despite nearly two decades on Alcatraz, there were still areas he hadn’t seen within the prison confines. He was soft-spoken and articulate. His hard looks had evolved into soft rounded features and he certainly didn’t resemble the cold-blooded criminal that I had read about.
A few hours later after the boat had delivered our group back to the boarding pier, I noticed Carnes sitting at a street vendor’s booth signing books. I tried to muster the courage to introduce myself and ask him a few questions about the ’46 events. But just as I approached him, he got up, motioned to the vendor that he was hungry and started walking away. Keeping a safe distance, I followed him through Fisherman’s Wharf, finally arriving at a food concession stand. Carnes purchased a hot dog and soft drink and walked over to the telescopes located at the end of Pier 45, which advertised a close-up view of Alcatraz Island for only ten cents. He dropped a dime in the first telescope and looked through it for about a minute. Noticing