Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [99]
Young would take part in another kidnapping on October 26, 1934, when he and his accomplice Sherman Baxter, who he had met while incarcerated at the Montana State Penitentiary, abducted a man in Spokane. They drove their victim to a remote location in or near the town of Medical Lake, Washington, and proceeded to rob him. A beating him, they wired him to a tree, where he remained undiscovered until the following day. The duo painted their stolen car and drove to Portland, Oregon, where they picked up Jack Baker, a friend of Henri’s from his carnival days in California.
On November 2, 1934, the twenty-three-year-old Henri Young and his two accomplices robbed the First National Bank of Lind, Washington. During the hold up, Young forced cashier J.F. Gibson onto the vault floor while they searched for cash. The three men made off with $405.00 and were captured only 40 minutes later. In the arrest report, Young was described as being arrogant and boastful of his crime. The three young men stood trial and Henri’s accomplices were sentenced to serve 15 years at McNeil Island, while Henri was sentenced to 20 years. Young’s days of freedom had now come to a halt...
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Prison life at McNeil was tough, and Young’s own accounts describe violent fistfights and forced sexual encounters. He quickly became known as a difficult inmate and on January 14, 1935, United States Attorney J.M. Simpson wrote to the Attorney General, pleading for Young’s transfer to Alcatraz. Simpson wrote:
I think Henry Young is the worst and most dangerous criminal with whom I’ve ever dealt, although I have prosecuted and hung two individuals on the charge of murder. Young’s record is bad. He served a term of 15 months in the penitentiary at Dear Lodge, Montana, for the crime of robbery. The circumstances were very brutal.
Four months later E.B. Swope, Warden of McNeil Island and future Warden of Alcatraz, wrote to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, also advocating Young’s transfer to The Rock. Swope wrote that Young was “fomenting as much trouble as he possibly can.” He went on to describe Henri further:
I am sure that we are going to have more or less trouble with him. He is vicious, unscrupulous, and is a fomenter of trouble, but still has enough ingenuity to keep undercover. I would very much appreciate that if a transfer is going to be made, that it be done at an early date.
Young Arrives at Alcatraz
Henri Young was considered one of the most incorrigible inmates ever to serve time at Alcatraz. His extensive conduct reports depict a volatile and hostile nature.
Henri Young arrived on Alcatraz on June 1, 1935, as inmate AZ-244. Just one month later, Young would receive his first write-up for misconduct. Young and inmate Francis L. Keating were reprimanded for talking loudly during mealtime, which was strictly forbidden. His menacing attitude would only intensify under the strict regulations at Alcatraz. Young’s first trip to solitary confinement began on July 17, 1935, when he refused to shake out clothes during a work assignment in the laundry. He was also put on a restricted diet, which usually consisted of one full meal a day with two additional servings of bread and water.
Young’s arrogant and belligerent attitude only grew worse during his imprisonment on Alcatraz. On January 21, 1936, Young was written up for the following violations:
JOINING IN STRIKE, SUSPECTED OF SABATOGE, Having been reported by Jr. Officer Dixon as having dumped 400 lbs. of vegetables in the vegetable