Ghosts of DC took a little trip to the Bay Area this weekend and wewanted to sprinkle a little San Francisco flavor into this next post.We can think of no better subject than Alcatraz (aka, The Rock). Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. I have cancer. 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. Two hours after learning of the murder, I wrote my first story. I have interviewed hundreds of people in some unusual placesin cornfields, cemeteries and nursing homes. Pigage said he knew he had been drinking too much at the party he attended before the accident Dec. 23, 1982. I did not. Read about our approach to external linking. John and Clarence Anglin, Two of the Only Men to Escape From Meanwhile Morris and the Anglin brothers managed to climb down a kitchen ventilator shaft, and then clamber over the perimeter fence. They made it- but what happened next is shocking. "I think probably the brothers lived but there's a chance that all three of them could have lived and they just split up once they left. 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. This would be difficult enough to do for a short time, but for decades afterwards? The legend of this escape lives on today, 50 years later. In subsequent years, journalism student interns from Louisiana State University, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Alabama have searched through documents in courthouses throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, retrieved records from the National Archives, and followed leads. A town of many poor people, both whites and black depended on Morris to keep their families in shoes. Baton Rouge Rocked By Shooting Deaths Of 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. Morris was one of the few black businessmen in the South to successfully cater to a black and white clientele. During his stay, he was interviewed by Paul Lancaster, an FBI agent who recorded his three-hour conversation with Morris. 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. Brothers John and Clarence Anglin and fellow inmate Frank Morris escape from Alcatraz Island prison, the only ones to do so. Their families insist they survived. Investigators doubt it. The Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, That recording became the basis for Nelsons story about Morris, who was burned 100 percent from head to toe.. In recognition of its four-year probe, Ferriday's newspaper -- the Sentinel -- was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting in 2011 for its courageous and determined efforts to unravel a long forgotten Ku Klux Klan murder during the Civil Rights era. By the spring of 2012, the case remained under federal investigation with the assistance of the Concordia Parish District Attorney. They made their escape off the island in a 6-by-14-foot, homemade rubber raft that was made from raincoats. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. We wanted the worst to happen, added her husband, 44, a United Parcel Service driver. Frank Morris also had plenty of opportunity to build up his physical fitness in the 6 months they were planning their escape. Cooper, which will likely remain unsolved. Morris was a professional inmate, havinglived a life behind bars for the better part of his life. Prisoner #AZ1441, Frank L. Morris, arrived at Alcatraz on January3, 1960 (the day after href="http://ghostsofdc.org/tag/john-f-kennedy/">JFK announced hiscandidacy for president). Ferriday was a poor town and families were lucky to provide father, mother and child with just one pair of shoes each. But the uncertainty over their fate created a legend. Not just the escape itself, but the way the men had managed to work on their plans, completely undetected, for 6 months! For more than two years, Frank and Elizabeth Morris dedicated their lives to punishing the drunk driver who had killed their only child. To him, it was a simple matter of right and wrong., You dont kill people in this country and get away with it, he said. There are plenty of people who think they did make it ashore and have been in hiding ever since. racist or sexually-oriented language. Three of the men were able to crawl through into an unused servicecorridor behind the wall. Be Proactive. It was where men were sent who were deemed too troublesome for other prisons, or who had tried too many escape attempts. 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. Supervising Deputy Mike Dyke of the U.S. The mystery of what actually happened to the three inmates who escaped The Rock continues, decades after their escape. LIVINGSTON -- Stanley Nelson was a child when he caught a sight he never forgot. It was described as the great garbage can of San Francisco, and nicknamed Hellcatraz. Read about our approach to external linking. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. By this time, I didnt trust anybody.. WebFrank Morris (speedcuber) (born 1981), American competitive speedcuber Frank Morris (prisoner) (19261962? For 10 years, Nelson investigated a string of Civil Rights-era murders committed by the Ku Klux Klan in southwest Mississippi and northeastern Louisiana. But during the early morning hours of December 10, 1964, Klansmen, under the cover of darkness, spread gasoline around the shoe shop and set it ablaze. Threats of harming another 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. This is a tale, much like that of D.B. An illustrated collection of 40 of my blog entries, Strange Tales: an A-Z of mysterious places and odd people is now available for AmazonsKindle, price 2.32. The Klansmen, by and large, were cowards individually, but real brave when they had seven or eight standing with them. Law enforcement officers though refused to believe it was genuine, even though letter-writing experts said the handwriting bore similarities with the letters sent to the Anglin family. Frank lived with Greg when he first moved to L.A. in 1996. He also said that when their father died, two mysterious bearded men turned up at the funeral, weeping quietly as they stood looking at the casket, before leaving again. 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. (West would get treated leniently by the authorities for co-operating fully with their enquiries). Also available on other Amazon sites. There have been allegations of witness intimidation, evidence tampering, and involvement by local law enforcement. Frank Morris was 51 years old at the time of his murder. I felt like if I could write about Frank Morris and talk about his business and how people white and black used his business for 30 years, it would get peoples attention. Stanley Nelson, a Pulitzer Prize finalist who serves as the current editor for the Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, Louisiana, signs a copy of his book during the Livingston Parish Book Festival at the Main Branch of the Livingston Parish Library on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. Nevertheless, he refused friends offers to drive him home. 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. After this long list of offenses, he is locked up as prisoner#AZ1441 at Alcatraz. Morriss hair was ablaze, the waistband of his boxer shorts and the shoulder straps of his undershirt smoldering. In their place were dummy heads made of plaster, flesh-tone paint and real human hair, the FBI said. Alcatraz escape still surprises, 50 years on - BBC News But he didnt say that. Frank One key suspect in Morriss murder died months after the FBI reopened the case in 2007. Morris yelled, Hey, stop that! Suddenly, the building was ignited, and Morris was in a sea of flame and smoke. 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. No charges have been brought despite three FBI investigations. 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. They were then able to climb up to an unguarded utility corridor, where they began to store things, such as raincoats, and DIY life preservers, which they copied from pictures in Popular Mechanics magazine. Journalist Stanley Nelson names a suspect and details the involvement of the Ku Klux Klan in a 1964 burning of a Louisiana shoe shop that killed its owner. He was orphaned by the age of 11, and The men had made their escape soon after 10 PM. 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. As part of their plan, each of the men had fashioned dummy headsout of plaster, toilet paper and hair from the prison barber shop. They were taken to other prisons in the state of CA. 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!. From the late 1930s until 1964, Morris shoe shop on Hwy. Frank Lee Morris (born September 1, 1926) was born in Washington, D.C. His parents abandoned him when he was 11, so he spent the rest of his childhood in foster homes, an orphan. Morris made those shoes last. He began his life of crime at the tender age of 13, and embarked on a low-life existence of possession of drugs and armed robbery. Less thana year after his release, he was incarcerated in Florida StatePenitentiary for breaking and entering. Not much of his youth isdocumented, but according to FBI documents, he was orphaned at the ageof 11 and sent to live in foster homes. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. 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. By the 1950s inmates had been granted various privileges not known to previous residents, such as being able to have musical instruments in their cells, and Frank would use an accordion to cover up any noise made by their work. IMDb RATING. Investigated by the US Marshals.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. Books and documentaries continued to question whether they drowned, or in fact made it to shore. Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Ferriday in Concordia Parish, Louisiana , Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 23, 2014, Frank Morris. about what had happened to the FBI. There's always a legend, but I don't think it's going to happen. Sarah Hapgood and sjhstrangetales.wordpress.com, 2011-2018. "Rumours start somewhere and nobody knows where they come from. To show Pigage the carnage drunk drivers can cause, Circuit Judge Edwin White ordered him to watch an autopsy performed, ride with an ambulance crew on emergency runs and work as a volunteer in a hospital emergency room. Frank was very much the brains of the outfit. Morris tried to exit the front door, Nelson said, but the man with the shotgun pointed it at Morris head and told him to go back inside. Don't Threaten. He was ordered to spend one night in jail every other weekend, and Elizabeth Morris made sure that he complied. Infectious Diseases: Common cold or the flu? Action Crime. 5.2 /10. RELATED ARTICLE 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 escaped but was caught again for a burglary in 1960. 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 He died because of hatred. And we will never know how many people were killed during that era, Nelson said. A successful escape from a fortress like Alcatraz was incredibly embarrassing to them. Just check it out below and by the way, did you know rap sheet is an acronym forrecord of arrest and prosecution? BUT if they did survive, how did they live? WebOld men now, many remain furious about what happened to Morris. Also available on other Amazon sites. 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. 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. Retired FBI agents and police officers are crucial to my reporting. Mostpeople believe that the men died in their escape, but a number ofpeople believe they made it. the seaon was Summer in the Chinese year of Tiger, it is 242 days until Frank Morris next birthday. The three made it up to the roof, and despite the searchlights, headed over high barbed-wire fences. Was the Escape from Alcatraz Successful? - History Theyve made it much easier for me to live with myself and forgive myself.. I wanted to hear what he had to say. 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!. His intelligence likely helped him and his fellow prisoners orchestrate an escape from Alcatraz.He was portrayed by actor Clint Eastwood in the 1979 film, Escape from Alcatraz. Who Escaped From Alcatraz Survived, New Letter Says We were threatened. I needed to forgive Tommy to save myself.. 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. Frank Lee Morris, Clarence Anglin and John Anglin (l-r) made it out of Alcatraz, but did they survive? I really expected him to say that it wasnt his fault, that it could have happened to anybody, she said. We were ready to run the story in November 2010 and asked the FBI for a comment. Morris was said to have an I.Q. committed his first crime by age 13, and by his late teens had been arrested and convicted for crimes such as narcotics possession and armed robbery. I began to realize that the same people who killed Frank had committed seven other murders in our area, Nelson said. He offered to go to prison for a year, if it meant he could get medical treatment. Mysteries, murders and other tales of the Unexplained from my blog entries, What Happened To Frank Morris? Solving a 46-Year-Old Cold To this day it still exerts a baleful influence over the public imagination, and is a popular tourist attraction. Frank Morris, second from right in center group, in front of his shoe shop in the 1950s. Nelson said people constantly ask him what he devoted more than a decade to finding out the truth about what happened to Morris and others who were killed during that time. Frank Morris Matthew Lawrence says he lost role because he wouldn't strip 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. This time, officials sentenced Morris to serve 14 years at Alcatraz. One widow whose husband was almost killed by Klansmen told me she still lives in fear. accounts, the history behind an article. Nelsons work led to the identification of members of the Silver Dollar Group, the most secretive Klan cell known in America. He was convicted of his first criminal offense at 13, and by his late teens had been arrested for crimes ranging from narcotics possession to armed robbery. To me, these are the kind of people we should embrace in our communities and care about. 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. This time, the Morrises were in favor of it. Stanley Nelson is editor of the Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, Louisiana. Nelson eventually found the son of one of the Klansmen who stood outside Morris shop the night he was burned. Pigage said he started drinking at 16 and that alcohol soon became a problem. The lost and untold history of Washington. He said that his brother died in 2011 and Morris died in 2008. One TV show re-enacted the escape in similar conditions and concluded they could have survived. New York Post Murder of Frank Morris Pigage was also ordered to stop drinking and to share his experience with high school students at MADD lectures. We wanted him dead.. 234. You have permission to edit this article. In the past four years, I have written more than 150 stories about the Morris killing. Many young black men were given their first jobs by Morris. Today I am the editor of the weekly Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday. This is no joke.". She couldnt understand what her grandfather had done to make someone do that.. What Happened in 1962 At the same time, he was working with several universities to obtain FBI documents, including some that no one had ever seen. Nelson began his talk by explaining what happened to Morris, an African American who was killed inside the barber shop he owned for 30 years a little after midnight on Dec. 10, 1964. Frank Morris, who would be 95 today, arrived at Alcatraz in January 1960 after he was found guilty of a number of crimes, including bank robbery, burglary and But by late 1965, the case had turned cold while civil unrest continued to rage throughout this region. I dont think people realize what theyre playing with when they drink and drive.. Help advance the Nieman Foundations mission to promote and elevate the standards of journalism by making a donation. Out front he saw two men, one pouring gasoline on the outside of the building, the other holding a shotgun. His mother died when he was a toddler, and he was raised by his maternal grandparents.
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