The US President, Donald Trumpwants his infamous prisons to be re -operated Alcatraz and to be carried there The most violent criminals in the world. But how realistic is his desire?
Alcatraz – known as “The Rock” (The Rock) – It has not been used as a prison for decades. Today it is a historical attraction visited by millions of tourists every year. US President Trump argued that prison could be used again to housed dangerous prisoners and exploit as a symbol of law and order.
In a post on May 4, Trump said: “For a long time, America has been confronted with the scourge of criminals, wild, violent, hypotrophic, downfall of society that never bring anything beyond misery and suffering.”
«That is why I ordered the Prison Service, as well as the Ministry of Justice, the FBI and the Ministry of Interior to reopen, To grow up greatly and rebuild Alcatraz to drive there the most dangerous and violent criminals in America, “he continued.
In the same post, his government still mentioned will not become a “host” judges They prevent her from deporting “criminals” and “trumpets” who “came to our country illegally” – without explaining whether, what, his or her order has to reopen this prison with his anti -immigration policy.
But as the BBCexperts estimate that prison renovation is not an easy task.
By naval fort, to prison for infamous criminals such as Al Capone
Alcatraz, located on an island about 2 kilometers off San Francisco, was originally built as Naval fort. At the beginning of the 20th century it was rebuilt as Military prison.
In 1934 it was converted officially in federal prison – Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary – “hosting” infamous prisoners, including Al Capone, Mickey Cohen and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.
Existed one of the most notorious in the US and was considered a particularly tough place because of the strong currents and cold temperatures of San Francisco’s vagina.
Alcatraz legend was reinforced in 1979 with movie “Escape from Alcatraz”, which narrates a prisoner escape in 1962, starring him Clint Eastwood. There was filmed in 1996 and the A movie “The Rock”, starring Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage.
According to the Federal Prison Office, Alcatraz’s operation was almost three times more expensive than other federal institutions and eventually the prisons were closed by Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1963.
The island and prison are today museum And more than 1.4 million people visit it every year.
By Reagan to Trump
And yet Donald Trump is not the first president of the US to think of the reopening of the facilities as a detention center.
The 1981Alcatraz was one of the locations examined by his government Ronald Reagan to use as a detention center of about 20,000 immigrants who had escaped Cuba to Florida.
The space was finally rejected because of its historical value as a monument and also because of the lack of appropriate infrastructure.
But can it finally reopen?
Immediately after Trump’s comments that traveled around the world, a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said in a statement that the competent service “He works for the reconstruction and opening of Alcatraz to serve as a symbol of law and order.”
However, prison experts and historians have expressed serious doubts To whether the plan is possible.
“To be honest, at first I thought it was a joke,” said Hugh Cherwich, who served as service manager of the Federal Prison Bureau between May 2018 and August 2019. “It is not realistic to believe that you can repair it. You should dismantle it and start from the beginning. “ he said.
He also referred to significant infrastructure problems, including buildings that “literally collapse” and cells in which “a 1.80m man cannot stand up”.
“There is no upgrading of security. There are no cameras. No fence, “he added.
When Alcatraz ceased to operate as a prison in 1963, the Federal Prison Office had announced that its operation was almost three times more accurate than any other federal prison – The cost was $ 10 to $ 13 per prisoner, compared to $ 3 to $ 5 in other facilities. This was partly due to the fact that the delivery of food and supply by ship were required.
As the BBC comments today, in federal prisons, per capita costs for prisoners ranges between 120 and $ 164 – which means that costs could be increased to over $ 500 per person in an infrastructure such as Alcatraz.
“It was incredibly expensive to keep a convict there,” said John Martini, a historian who spent several years in Alcatraz as a forestizer of the National Park. “Things haven’t changed. But the place has taken the downhill. It is essentially a shell, ”he adds.