Birdman Of Alcatraz

Life History Of The Bird Man Of Alcatraz

He started getting into trouble when he was a pimp in Juneau, Alaska in 1909. Below I share with you what I've learned about this very interesting criminal who once lived on Alcatraz prison. You can also go visit where the Bird Man Of Alcatraz lived for 17 years.

There he shot, killed and robbed a bartender because he didn't pay for services. He got the money back for his female employee.

He ended up in Leavenworth, Kansas, in a federal prison and stabbed a guard to death in front of 1200 inmates. He had three very long trials and was sentenced to be hung to death on April 23, 1920. His mother lobbied for him endlessly and appeals were sent to Mrs. Woodrow Wilson which resulted in him receiving life imprisonment in isolation.

He then developed his interest in birds and at one time had accumulated almost 300 birds while in prison. He started a bird breeding business and use the two adjoining cells to run it. Some say he developed this interest in birds because he learned he would given alcohol for his experiments. They searched his cell and found 3 gallons of 188 proof mash. They also discovered he was smuggling letters out of prison in the bottom of his bird cages!

He was transferred to Alcatraz Prison on December 19, 1942. He had already served over 33 years behind bars. With his record of perverse behavior and homicidal/homosexual assaults he got placed in isolation again in the D Block.

He began his stay by enlisting his neighbors to fight and destroy property. At Alcatraz he wrote, Diseases of Canaries and Stroud's Digest On The Diseases Of Birds which helped poultrymen and bird breeders.

In 1959 he was suffering from many physical problems. Bird Man of Alcatraz was transferred to Springfield Medical Facility. He asked Attorney General Robert Kennedy to be released for his final days. The response was that he was already home - prison had been his home for over 50 years. Interestingly enough he died November 23, 1963 - the day after President Kennedy was shot.

It's interesting that the Birdman of Alcatraz never had any birds at Alcatraz. It was a maximum-security prison and Alcatraz prison did not permit guards to give inmates privileges like raising birds.

His nickname came from the movie "Birdman of Alcatraz" which was a fictitious film about his life. Burt Lancaster played the Bird Man of Alcatraz and portrayed Stroud with birds as his cellmates on Alcatraz. In the movie he was played to be a kind grandfather type but prison guards who knew him thought he was one of the most vicious psychopaths in Alcatraz's history.

Video From Birdman Of Alcatraz

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