And we will never know how many people were killed during that era, Nelson said. At the end of the film Escape From Alcatraz, Patrick McGoohan, as the Prison Governor, is heard insisting that they had drowned. WebIn Alcatraz escape of June 1962 the cellsthe convicted armed robber Frank Morris and the convicted bank-robbing brothers Clarence and John Anglinwere nowhere to be WebFrank Morris (speedcuber) (born 1981), American competitive speedcuber Frank Morris (prisoner) (19261962? Morriss shop was torched in December 1964. As career criminals they would have had no trouble stealing cars, food and clothes to survive, but this would very likely lead to their arrest and capture. Not just the escape itself, but the way the men had managed to work on their plans, completely undetected, for 6 months! Morris yelled, Hey, stop that! According to the FBI, authorities found pieces of a woode n paddle and a rubber inner tube in the water around Alcatraz after the escape. DeLaughter once said he thought no more of killing a man than a rabbit. A successful escape from a fortress like Alcatraz was incredibly embarrassing to them. Part of HuffPost News. On the morning of June 12, 1962, guards discovered the three inmates missing from their beds. Side note: in 1951, Charles Manson was an inmate at theschool. Morris meant a lot to Ferriday, Nelson said, particularly to the young African American men who got their first jobs at Morris shop. What happened to Frank Morris | Pulitzer Prize finalist discusses string of Klan murders during talk at Livingston Parish Library, SOFTBALL | Ford stepping down as Albany softball coach, SOFTBALL | French Settlement grinds out state championship victory over Montgomery, $1 million and counting: Years after surviving cancer, Livingston Parish man continues raising money for St. Jude, Livingston Parish principal, new teachers competing for states top educator awards, BASEBALL | French Settlement travels to face No. He was orphaned by the age of 11, and farmed out to foster homes. No one had ever talked to her about the murder. They concealed their work with cardboard and paint every morning. I needed to forgive Tommy to save myself.. We went with the story in early January. Threats of harming another "He had on prison clothes - a navy pea coat and a light pair of trousers - similar to what prisoners wore. Soon, Nelson realized Morris wasnt the only victim of the Silver Dollar Group, which committed a series of at least eight murders from 1964-67. We wanted him in prison, Elizabeth Morris said. This is a tale, much like that of D.B.Cooper, which will likely remain unsolved. Help advance the Nieman Foundations mission to promote and elevate the standards of journalism by making a donation. Every step he took left behind a bloody footprint., Morris was treated in a local hospital for four days before he died. The true story, based on a Deathbed Confession, about what really happened to Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers who escaped from Alcatraz Prison in 1962. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Also available on other Amazon sites. Clearly Frank was ensconced in a life of crime and we dontneed to run through his entire rap sheet. They continued, climbing two successive 12-foot, barbed-wire fencesand headed for the islands northeast shore to inflate the raft.By 10 p.m. that evening, they had set off into the dense fog coveringthe bay. Well after all, no one could escape from Alcatraz could they . Nelsons book Devils Walking: Klan Murders along the Mississippi in the 1960s later became the basis of a blockbuster trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Greg Iles. He had an IQ of 133, and as Clint Eastwood would later point out, if he had channelled his energies in a different direction, he could have made a success out of life. Pigage, a tobacco warehouse worker, still spends alternate weekends in jail and makes speeches for MADD and other groups. The arson was committed on the very day a world away in Oslo, Norway, Dr. Martin Luther King accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for civil rights and freedom for all men, regardless of race, creed, origin or gender. Old men now, many remain furious about what happened to Morris. The lost and untold history of Washington. Frank Morris had previously been imprisoned for bank robbery, escaped, and was sent to Alcatraz after being convicted of a burglary. Two police officers arrived just seconds after Morriss attackers fled. According to KPIX5, the U.S. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Mostly cloudy. Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and his brother John Anglin escaped from the notorious penitentiary with a raft made of raincoats and left behind plaster dummies in their beds. In 1964, she was 12 years old and living with her aunt in Ferriday. Since the Morrises made their decision to befriend him, Pigage, 26, has joined their church, quit drinking and become an active lecturer for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He was born in 1926 in Washington DC, and had a troubled upbringing. Nelson said he has received different sorts of threats since he started investigating what happened to Morris. For his work on the Frank Morris case, he was a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting and a recipient this year of the University of Oregons Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism and the Louisiana State University Manship SchoolCourage and Justice Award. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? Out front he saw two men, one pouring gasoline on the outside of the building, the other holding a shotgun. On one visit, Pigage wept and threw his arms around Frank Morris, begging to be forgiven. As he ran to safety he left behind a trail of bloody footprints. Anne Frank was taken by the Nazi's on August 4, 1944 What happened to the prisoners when Alcatraz closed down? B-Road Incident and other stories is now available for Amazon's I figured I wasnt able to help Ted anymore; maybe I could help Tommy, she said. But I felt that forgiveness required me to go the second mile and see what I could do for him., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Virginia Gov. Driven by hatred, they monitored his every court appearance, followed him to the county jail to make sure he was serving his weekend sentence and watched his apartment to try to catch him violating his probation. of 133, borderline genius, and wasthe mastermind of the escape plot. Ferriday was a poor town and families were lucky to provide father, mother and child with just one pair of shoes each. Morris investigation eventually led him to Olson who, at the time of his death, was a bacteriologist and biological warfare scientist working for the CIA. The owners of the Concordia Sentinel never hesitated in following the story. A month later the DOJ and the local district attorney convened a grand jury in Concordia Parish to look into this murder. Those who ran Alcatraz liked to say nobody ever escaped alive. Most suspects and witnesses were elderly or dead. There are plenty of people who think they did make it ashore and have been in hiding ever since. The letter writer said, "We all made it that night but barely!". Frank Morris was a child of the Depression era. Every time it would be delayed, I would get more upset, and my hatred for him would grow, Elizabeth Morris said. . He provided white women with curbside service so they would not have to walk inside his store. All three men knew each other from previous prison stays. A couple of years later, on November 13, 1940, he was convictedof theft and sentenced to the href="http://ghostsofdc.org/tag/national-training-school-for-boys/">NationalTraining School for Boys, a reform school in northeast D.C., wherehe was taught to repair shoes. They then inflated their makeshift portable life-raft by using a concertina! This would be difficult enough to do for a short time, but for decades afterwards? We knew some would be angered to read about the parishs ugly racial past. It was used primarily as a military prison until, in 1933, the href="http://ghostsofdc.org/tag/department-of-justice/">Department ofJustice acquired the island for use as a maximum security prisonfor the worst of the worst felons. Central to the case is a dead manFrank DeLaughter, a deputy sheriff in 1964 who was the most feared man in the parish. Investigated by the US Marshals. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, Morris was born on September 1, 1926 at href="http://ghostsofdc.org/tag/gallinger-hospital/">GallingerHospital in Washington, D.C. (more recently known as D.C. GeneralHospital near RFKStadium and closed in 2001). What Happened To Frank Morris? PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Perhaps its because of this never-ending Lockdown we are in here in the UK, but very recently I found myself watching Escape From Alcatraz, a 1979 film starring Clint Eastwood, and based on the true story of the only men who ever managed to escape from the infamous Rock, the island prison of Alcatraz, in the bay of San Francisco. But this was one of the most daring and intricate escapes in the notorious prison's history - involving spoons, papier-mache heads and rubber raincoats. His refusal to provide continued free shoe repair work for a notorious Concordia Parish deputy may have been the trigger for the arson. It is in his memory and in hope for racial reconciliation and for justice that Ferriday honors the life of this good citizen. It was described as the great garbage can of San Francisco, and nicknamed Hellcatraz. The true story, based on a Deathbed Confession, about what really happened to Frank Morris The most significant one was published in January when the Sentinel reported that a 71-year-old Rayville, Louisiana man was involved in the arson, according to relatives, who also said that no one was supposed to be there that night; the perpetrators were shocked to see Morris. Two people say a Richland Parish truck driver who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan told them he participated in the arson that killed Frank Morris, a black Ferriday businessman, in 1964. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sarah Hapgood and sjhstrangetales.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. VideoOn board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, I didnt think make-up was made for black girls, Why there is serious money in kitchen fumes. 84 in Ferriday was one of the busiest establishments in town. It is in Ferriday in Concordia Parish Louisiana, The Blues Trail: Mississippi to Louisiana, Cold case Klan murder cases plague Louisiana, Solving A 1964 Cold Case: Mystery Of Frank Morris. The three made it up to the roof, and despite the searchlights, headed over high barbed-wire fences. Somehow, they were able to shimmy down a50-foot kitchen pipe affixed to the wall, while the wall wasilluminated sporadically with a search light, yet they remainedundetected (someone in the guard house taking a little snoozer?). The case was officially closed by the FBI in 1979, but in 2013 a letter was submitted to the San Franciso Police Department, claiming to be from John Anglin, which asserted that the 3 men had barely made it to the shore on the night of their escape. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? They also found a homemade life-vest washed up on a nearby beach. For the next 6 months they used a variety of tools, such as discarded saws, a drill fashioned from a vacuum cleaner, and spoons taken from the mess hall, to widen the ventilation ducts beneath the sinks in their cells. I needed FBI files and I had to find people who had left Ferriday decades ago. 5.2 /10. We felt like everything that had happened was to his benefit, not the victims, Frank Morris said. Nevertheless, he refused friends offers to drive him home. Transylvanian Sky and other stories is now available for Amazon's He would be willing to turn himself in if ", AI chatbots 'may soon be more intelligent than us', Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in five months - US, Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israel prison, The 17 most eye-catching looks at the Met Gala, The burden of being cricket legend Tendulkar's son, 'My wife and six children joined Kenya starvation cult', On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. The letter writer also revealed he was suffering from cancer and said, "If you announce on TV that I will be promised to first go to jail for no more than a year and get medical attention, I will write back to let you know exactly where I am. I have interviewed hundreds of people in some unusual placesin cornfields, cemeteries and nursing I feel like he has taken a real about-face in his life, Frank Morris said. Many young black men were given their first jobs by Morris. For years she had prayed for justice. The plan involved the men chiseling through the walls in theircells over the course of a year, until the hole they created was largeenough to crawl through. Paula C. Johnson and Janis L. McDonaldHelp initially came from Janis L. McDonald and Paula C. Johnson, founders of the Syracuse University College of Law Cold Case Justice Initiative. The true story, based on a Deathbed Confession, about what really happened to Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers who escaped from Alcatraz Prison in 1962. My Gods it's unwatchable. Some canceled subscriptions. Everything to Know About the Sarah Lawrence Sex Cult Leader, Everything to Know About the Murdaugh Family Murders, Including Alex's Conviction, The Best TV Shows on Amazon Prime Video to Stream Now, Idaho Murder Suspect: What We Know About Bryan Kohberger, Tom Sizemore's Life, Career and Controversies: Everything to Know, King Charles' Coronation: Live Updates and Everything to Know About the Crowning Ceremony, 'Forgotten' American Sarah Krivanek Tells Her Story as She and Brittney Griner Are Freed from Russian Prison. West managed to reach the prison roof before giving up and climbing back down to his cell. I did not. Elizabeth Morris admitted she had transferred many of her maternal feelings to Pigage. A photograph taken of two bearded men in 1975 hints strongly that they eventually made it to Brazil. What was going through Morriss mind when he faced his attackers? I tell them how much damage they can do to both lives, the family that loses somebody and also their own, he said. From there, the men clambered up a series of pipes to the prison roof and then slid down a smokestack to the prison grounds where they jumped a fence, made their way to the northeast shore of the island and set off to the mainland, according to the FBI. I could hear the pain of that 12-year-old girl in her voice and it reminded me of the time in high school when I witnessed the death of a young family in a fiery automobile accident. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. As they navigated the dark roads, the family came upon a wrecked Volkswagen Beetle that they later found out had been hit by a drunk driver. He began formulating his plan to escape from Alcatraz in December 1960, when he found himself sharing adjacent cells with like-minded souls, John and Clarence Anglin (brothers, both in for bank robbery), and Allen West (who was doing time for car theft). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and owner is strictly prohibited. Photo by August Thompson/Concordia Sentinel. Unfortunately for West, the vent coveringhis hole was stuck and he was unable to get out, so Morris and theAnglins left him. Why did Frank Morris get sent to Alcatraz? He was convicted of his first crime at age 13, and by his late teens had been arrested for crimes ranging from narcotics possession to armed robbery. He served time in Florida and Georgia, then escaped from the Louisiana State Penitentiary while serving 10 years for bank robbery. Even if by some miracle you managed to chisel your way out of your cell and the fortress building itself, you would still have to brave the icy shark-infested waters and strong currents of the bay. Freedom did not last long for Frank as he violated it within a yearand was back in reform school at Chillicothe, Ohio in 1943. The Morrises first saw him at a preliminary hearing a few days after their son was buried. Nelson said the group formed after Ole Miss University was integrated as well as after the passing of Civil Rights and voting bills for African Americans. The papier-mache heads left behind in their cells meant their disappearance wasnt detected until several hours later, the following morning. Be Proactive. After this long list of offenses, he is locked up as prisoner#AZ1441 at Alcatraz. You have permission to edit this article. One last thing. He was known for his leather work, too, and a number of ranchers and horsemen depended on him to care for bridles, saddles and other accessories. To this day it still exerts a baleful influence over the public imagination, and is a popular tourist attraction. Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Thinking about Morris, I wondered how in Gods name one human could purposely set another on fire. She later drove by his apartment and saw him drinking, a violation of his probation. Criminal Frank Morris were born on Wednesday, birthstone is Sapphire, Please disable your ad blocker, and refresh the page to view this content. Solving a 46-Year-Old Cold Case NPR January 12, 2011 at 1:11 PM Journalist Stanley Nelson names a suspect and details the Theheads were placed in their beds so the guards would think the inmateswere still asleep. The sons of poor Georgian farmers, the Anglin brothers were 2 of 14 children. Infectious Diseases: Common cold or the flu? Kindle, price 1.15. Frank Morris also had plenty of opportunity to build up his physical fitness in the 6 months they were planning their escape. We wanted him dead.. The man with the shotgun blocked his escape through the front door as he pointed the barrel at Morris while shouting, Get back in there, nigger!. It started out as the sitefor a lighthouse until President Millard Fillmore ordered it to beused as a military base in 1850, following the Mexican-American war.It continued to serve in a military capacity through the href="http://ghostsofdc.org/tag/the-civil-war/">Civil War and, inaddition, began housing Confederate prisoners of war. He rebuilt shoes and sold dry goods., An early member of the NAACP, Morris was also an usher in the Mercy Seat Baptist Church and was known for his patriotism and support of the community. The Klan had accused Morris of flirting with white women and of allowing interracial liaisons in the back room of his shop. This historical marker was erected by City of Ferriday, Louisiana. The true story, based on a Deathbed Confession, about what really happened to Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers who escaped from Alcatraz Prison in 1962. Frank Lee Morris was serving 10 years for bank robbery when the unthinkable happened he managed to escape! Morris successfully evaded the authorities for almost a year before he was captured during another robbery. He was arrested and put away, but this time he was sent to the notorious Alcatraz. The men crept through the unused corridor, up a shaft of pipes tothe roof and across the roof, in plain site of the guard tower withtheir makeshift gear in tow. Investigators would later theorise We were threatened. Mostpeople believe that the men died in their escape, but a number ofpeople believe they made it. Share with Us. To conceal their absence from their cells, the men constructed papier mache heads, made realistic by snatching hair from the barber-shop floor. "You can't rule out the fact that they died. Click here for more from Around the Web -->, Livingston Parish Court News December 2020, Livingston Parish Court News November 2020, Click here for more Court News, Felony Arrests -->, Public Notices published Thursday, April 27, 2023. According to the FBI, Morris, a bank robber and burglar, was sent to Alcatraz where famous inmates including Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly and the Birdman of Alcatraz served time in 1960. Tommy Pigage, the young man who caused the fatal crash, still gets a lot of attention from the Morrises. YOUR RATING. Sarah Hapgood and sjhstrangetales.wordpress.com, 2011-2018. Nelson recounted this story, which led to around 200 other published stories about Frank Morris and a Pulitzer Prize nomination for local reporting, during a chilling discussion at Livingston Parish Librarys 2019 Book Festival. They all remembered him as a man who taught them to treat people well and with respect. For me personally, Rosa made me think about the crash I saw when I was younger, Nelson said. According to the official version, Frank Morris, and the brothers John and Clarence Anglin were presumed drowned in the cold and choppy waters of San For more than a quarter of a century, Frank Morris operated one of the most successful African-American businesses in Concordia Parish. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. She told me as much as she wanted to know who did it, she wanted to know why they did it. He was only a mile from his home when his car strayed across the center line and hit an oncoming car driven by 18-year-old Ted Morris, out visiting friends after his first semester away at college. Facts about Criminal Frank Morris - age: 36, height, Salary, famous birthday, birthplace, horoscope, fanpage, before fame and family, all about Frank Morris's His mother died when he was a toddler, and he was raised by his maternal grandparents. Alcatraz was closed in 1963, a year after the escape, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. His work led to the identification of members of the Silver Dollar Group, the most secretive Klan cell known in America. He had been asleep in the back of his shoe shop when he heard glass breaking shortly after midnight on December 10, 1964. The hate and the bitterness I was feeling was destroying me, Elizabeth Morris said. We were ready to run the story in November 2010 and asked the FBI for a comment. Authorities discovered the men spent 18 months planning their escape. I knew God required me to forgive Tommy at some point, he said, but I could have dropped it after that and probably would have felt more comfortable. One reader wrote: If all of the wicked, hate crimes could be taken out of the secret places and stand in the light, this country could be healed!. Frank Morris, second from right in center group, in front of his shoe shop in the 1950s. Youre just a reporter!. Most people believe that these men died in their This forced Morris to run through the flames to get out of the building, emerging in an alleyway where he was spotted by two police officers. He hated Negroes and was determined to see that they did not vote, integrate or achieve. It is also reputed to be very haunted, with many visitors claiming to have had disturbing experiences there, but perhaps that is a story for another time. Alcatraz Prison Escape: Deathbed Confession. Phil Dollison was living on Alcatraz island when three men escaped. Mysteries, murders and other tales of the Unexplained from my blog entries, An illustrated collection of 23 more of my blog entries, Strange Tales 2: more mysterious places and odd people is now available for AmazonsKindle, price 1.15. Although undoubtedly difficult, many people (including a 9-year-old boy) have swum the same distance, and it is thought now that the prison guards at Alcatraz hammed up the horror stories of the icy ocean currents to deter would-be escapees. Although it's not certain where the urban myth began, US Marshal Michael Dyke spent the day on the island anyway, just in case. The car was entirely engulfed in flames, taking the lives of an entire family inside, including a 7-year-old girl. When Lawyers and Journalists Share Common Cause They used spoons as well as a homemade drill made from the motor of a broken vacuum cleaner to widen the air vents in their cells and squeezed through to a utility corridor, the FBI said. Be Nice. The Members of the Beach Boys: Where Are They Now? He was born in Washington, D.C. and was abandoned by his parents when he was a young child. For Morriss granddaughter, what happened on that December night remains a painful symbol of injustice yet to be rectified. It is often believed that a man of his IQ would be too darn smart to go round telling anyone willy-nilly that he had escaped from Alcatraz, and I can quite imagine that he was able to successfully take this secret with him to the grave. I can't close the case. WebDetails: In 1960, Frank Morris was a former foster child who had committed his first crime at the age of thirteen, later graduating to possession of narcotics and armed robbery. It began by digging away at the concrete around the air vents in their cells with spoons and a drill-like device fashioned from a vacuum cleaner. He had been asleep in the back of his shoe shop when he heard glass breaking shortly after midnight on December 10, 1964. Theyve made it much easier for me to live with myself and forgive myself.. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, Serena Williams announces pregnancy at Met Gala, New record as 4.56m Indians take flights in a day, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, Yellen warns US could run out of cash in a month. They made it- but what happened next is shocking. He saw it near Wisner, Louisiana, a small town of less than 1,000 located about an hours drive south of Monroe. In their place were dummy heads made of plaster, flesh-tone paint and real human hair, the FBI said. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Marshals Service released new age-progressed images of the inmates: Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and his brother, John Anglin, who would all be in their 90s today. A Klan team of arsonists left the charred, smoldering ruins of the shoe shop as a message to Negroes about the price of crossing a white man. Retired FBI agents and police officers are crucial to my reporting. Morris died four days after the Ku Klux Klan torched his business. I actually felt sorry for him.. Check out the trailer below. Its often a feature of prison break stories, that the escapee is usually undone when he or she goes to commit a petty crime soon afterwards. UPDATE, 6:28 PM: One day after having his contract not renewed by Fox News Channel, Dick Morris says it was his bad political judgment that got him canned.I was fired because I was wrong. Frank Morris was convicted of his first crime at the the young ag of 13, and by the time he was an adult, his criminal record already listed a range of crimes, including armed robbery. He taught them respect, how to act, how to treat people, Nelson said. From the late 1930s until 1964, Morris shoe shop on Hwy. Action Crime. One of the men outside pointed a shotgun at Morris and refused his exit to safety out the front door just as the building erupted in flames. Nelson, who grew up in Ferriday, said he was 9 years old when Morris was murdered, though he had never heard of the man nor the popular barber shop he owned until the FBIs announcement in 2007. Winds light and variable. Frank Morris, second from right in center group, in front of his shoe shop in the 1950s. Two hours after learning of the murder, I wrote my first story. Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and his brother John Anglin escaped from the notorious penitentiary with a raft made of raincoats and left behind plaster dummies in And their conversation made Nelson think about that night and the car engulfed in flames many years before. He got up and referred to himself as a murderer. At 6 feet, 4 inches and 250-plus pounds, DeLaughter was a Klansman and a suspect in many crimes. The official position of themarshals service is that the inmates likely drowned in their attempt,however, their spokesman, Dave Branham was quoted as saying, wethink there is a possibility they are alive.. Frank yells out, and as he walked toward the window, one of the men throws a match at the building, which is then instantly engulfed in flames, Nelson said. The FBI agent who rushed to the hospital within hours of the arson said, If Frank would have told me who they [his attackers] were, we would have gone after the sons of bitches. Morriss friends believed he knew his attackers but was afraid to identify them. The following year, 137 prisonerswere transported from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and Alcatraz beganits service as part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons system. Is climate change killing Australian wine? In it, Anglin claimed that Morris had died in 2008 and his brother in 2011. A town of many poor people, both whites and black depended on Morris to keep their families in shoes. Frank was very much the brains of the outfit. I was 9 years old in December 1964 when Frank Morris, a 51-year-old African-American businessman, was murdered in Ferriday, Louisiana.