Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [221]
The plan for the Alcatraz escape started to take shape in December of 1961. It was a complex strategy that involved the design and fabrication of ingenious lifelike dummies, water rafts, and life preservers, all made from over fifty rain coats acquired from other inmates (some donated and others stolen), and a variety of crudely fashioned tools. In later interviews with the FBI and Alcatraz Prison Officials, West indicated that he had masterminded the escape, and had brought Morris in last of all, after the Anglins. Although it is still unclear who actually conceived the scheme, West’s interview provides significant insight into the planning and details of the escape. It establishes that he was at least a key participant, and likely the most reliable source of a specific chronology for the planning sequence and the escape itself.
In the FBI interview, West stated that he began pondering the idea of escaping from Alcatraz in May of 1961. It was apparently common knowledge among inmates that there were eight ventilator holes in the ceiling of C Block that had not been used for several years. The vent covers had allegedly been cemented closed, according to many of the inmates in the general prison population. West stated that during a routine painting assignment he noticed that one of the ventilators had not been cemented shut. He said that after covertly examining the vent opening, he determined that that it would be possible, with minimal labor, to make a successful escape onto the cellhouse roof. West also claimed that during one of his painting assignments he had noticed that there was a vent duct which ran down the side of the cellhouse. He stated that given these two factors, he felt that a well-planned escape could conceivably succeed.
During a routine painting detail, inmate Allen West noticed that one of the roof ventilators had not been cemented shut. This marked the beginning of his collaboration with Morris and the Anglins on one of the greatest prison escapes ever recorded.
At around this time plumbers were working in the utility corridor, and after they had completed their work, West was ordered to clean out the refuse from inside the narrow space. While cleaning smaller particles from the floor on his hands and knees, he noticed something wrapped in soiled paper and hidden beneath a cement support. When he opened the package, he found that it contained several old rusty saw blades and some makeshift metal files. He guessed that they had been hidden for ten to twenty years, based on their severely rusted condition.
West said that sometime after making this discovery he reported his finding to John Anglin, who was apparently already aware of the possibility of escaping through one of the ventilation openings in the roof. The two engaged in a lengthy conversation about the odds of success, and various methods of breaking out of the prison and swimming to the mainland. After considering several other options, one of which involved cutting the cell bars, they determined that the best escape route would be through the six-by-nine-inch iron ventilation grills at the rear of their cells. West explained to Anglin that he had already studied civil engineering references that he had obtained through the prison library, which contained a formula to break down the composite structure of cement by heating it to a temperature of 500 to 900 degrees. He also confided to Anglin that at one point he had obtained element wires similar to those of a bread toaster, and had plugged the wires into the electrical outlet in his cell, but could not generate enough heat to affect the cement.
West alleges that he brought Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris into the scheme in December of 1961. John Anglin had apparently gotten hold of a sharpened spoon, and had started digging around the ventilator grill inside his cell. He had already made significant progress in penetrating the cement. After several