From 'Public Enemy No. 1' to 'Birdman,' these 5 Alcatraz inmates had Kansas ties
George "Machine Gun" Kelly committed his best-known crime in Oklahoma and died in Kansas.
Robert Stroud, the 'Birdman of Alcatraz," started on his way to becoming a respected ornithologist when he picked up three baby birds that had fallen from their nest at a Kansas prison where he was an inmate.
Karpis, Kelly and Stroud are among men with Kansas connections who served time at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, which was considered escape-proof as it housed inmates from 1934 to 1963 on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
Alcatraz was back in the news this month when President Donald Trump said on X that he was directing the Federal Bureau of Prisons to rebuild and reopen a prison to house hardened criminals on that island.
"We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally," he said.
Following are five men with Kansas connections who were each imprisoned on "The Rock."
Alvin Karpis was designated by the FBI in 1934 as "Public Enemy No. 1." After being captured in 1936, he spent about 25 years at Alcatraz.
Karpis was born in 1907 in Canada, and moved with his family to Topeka as a small child.
He attended the former Branner School in a building that still stands at SE 3rd and Branner Street.
Karpis at one time was the marbles champion of Topeka, according to The Topeka Daily Capital.
He was known by the nickname of "Creepy," according to fbi.gov, which said he was "the brains" of the 1930s Barker-Karpis gang of criminals.
The gang robbed banks and trains, and brought in large ransoms from the separate kidnappings in 1933 of Milwaukee brewer William Hamm and in 1934 of St. Paul, Minnesota, banker Edward Bremer, whose father was a friend of President Franklin Roosevelt.
The FBI linked the gang to the killings of 10 people, the New York Times reported.
Law enforcement officers shot and killed three members of the gang in January 1935, a month in which Karpis narrowly escaped after a shootout in Atlantic City, N.J.
Federal agents then captured Karpis in May 1936 in New Orleans. He was sentenced to life in prison for Bremer's kidnapping.
Karpis served time from August 1936 to April 1962 at Alcatraz, except for six months spent in 1958 at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, according to alcatrazhistory.com.
Karpis then served in the penitentiary at McNeil Island, Washington, where he taught guitar lessons to a young Charles Manson, said the FBI's Facebook page.
Karpis was paroled in 1969, with one condition of his parole being his deportation to Canada, the New York Times reported.
He moved in 1973 to Spain, where he died in 1979.
Probably Alcatraz's most famous inmate was Robert Stroud, the so-called "Birdman of Alcatraz," according to the federal Bureau of Prisons website.
Stroud actually became a respected ornithologist while serving as an inmate at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas, and wasn't allowed to keep any birds at Alcatraz after he was transferred there in 1942, that site said.
It said Stroud "was not the grandfatherly person" portrayed by actor Burt Lancaster in "The Birdman of Alcatraz," a largely fictionalized biographical film about Stroud put out in 1962.
Stroud was born in 1890 in Seattle and went to prison for manslaughter linked to a gunshot homicide committed in 1909 in Juneau, Alaska.
He was initially sent to the federal penitentiary at McNeil Island, Washington, then transferred in 1915 to Leavenworth, said the website of the Alaska Historical Society.
"In 1916, he murdered a Leavenworth guard, was convicted of first-degree murder, and received a death sentence," said the federal Bureau of Prisons website. "His mother pleaded for his life, and in 1920, President Woodrow Wilson commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment."
Stroud found three baby sparrows that had fallen out of a nest as he was walking in the prison exercise yard at Leavenworth and took them back to his cell to care for them, said the Missouri State University website.
"He was then allowed to raise and study other birds, mainly canaries, to learn about their diseases, remedies, breeding, and care," that site said. "Though he only had a grade school education, he began taking university extension courses, learned to use a microscope and a microteme, and read Spanish and German scientific journals."
In the early 1930s, Stroud wrote a treatise on canary diseases, which was smuggled out of the prison and published in 1933, the Missouri State University website said.
"He also wrote a book titled 'Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds,' which was published in 1943," it said.
But contraband items were often found hidden in Stroud's bird cages, and prison officials discovered that equipment he had requested for scientific studies had actually been used to construct a still to make "home brew," the Bureau of Prisons website said.
Stroud was consequently transferred in 1942 to Alcatraz, where he was not allowed to keep birds.
Stroud successfully sought to protect other inmates during a deadly 1946 escape attempt known as the "Battle of Alcatraz," in which a group of inmates — which didn't include Stroud — took guards hostage and tried to gain control of a cellhouse.
Stroud was transferred in 1959 from Alcatraz to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, where he died on Nov. 21, 1963.
Theodore Cole and fellow inmate Ralph Roe on a foggy day in December 1937 filed through the flat iron bars of a window of the building where they worked at Alcatraz, then broke the window glass and slipped out.
They made their way to San Francisco Bay with plans to swim for freedom. Their bodies were never found.
"This attempt occurred during a bad storm and the Bay's currents were especially fast and strong," said the federal Bureau of Prisons website. "Most people believe Roe and Cole were swept out to sea. Officially, they are listed missing and presumed dead."
Cole was born in 1913 in Pittsburg, Kansas, according to the Alcatraz Island History Facebook page.
"Originally incarcerated in Oklahoma for bank robbery and kidnapping, Cole was known as a high escape risk, leading to his transfer first to Leavenworth Penitentiary and eventually to Alcatraz Island in 1935," it said.
Roe and Cole are among five Alcatraz inmates listed as missing and presumed drowned.
The others are Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, who made a well-known escape attempt in June 1962.
Wichita native John R. Bayless tried to escape alone from Alcatraz in September 1941 while serving on garbage detail.
"He gave up shortly after entering the cold water of San Francisco Bay," said the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
Bayless, born in 1915 in Wichita, became an inmate at Alcatraz in 1938 after being convicted of bank robbery, according to the website for Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.
About a year after his 1941 escape attempt, Bayless leaped a railing and dashed for a door while appearing at a federal hearing in a San Francisco courtroom, said alcatrazhistory.com.
"A deputy marshal grabbed him and foiled his second attempt," it said.
The website for Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy said Bayless subsequently:
Was transferred in 1950 to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, then paroled in 1951.
Robbed another bank, was convicted and was returned in 1952 to Alcatraz, where he remained until it closed in 1963.
Was transferred in 1963 to the penitentiary at McNeill Island, Washington, where he tried unsuccessfully to escape.
Was paroled in 1973 and spent the rest of his life in and out of prison until he died while on parole in 1981.
George R. Kelly was an inmate for 17 years at Alcatraz before he was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas, where he died of a heart attack.
Kelly was born in 1897 in Tennessee, according to fbi.gov, which said he attended public schools before working as a salesman and then a bootlegger.
His year of birth is given as 1895 at wikipedia.com and alcatrazhistory.com.
Kelly in 1927 married Kathryn Thorne, who bought him a machine gun and gave him the nickname "Machine Gun," according to fbi.gov. He subsequently robbed some banks, that site said.
George Kelly — carrying his trademark Tommy gun — and a man with a pistol in July 1933 abducted oil tycoon Charles Urschel, one of the wealthiest men in Oklahoma, for ransom from his Oklahoma City mansion. They blindfolded him and took him to a rural Texas ranch.
Urschel was held for nine days before the ransom was paid and he was released.
Urschel gave investigators a detailed statement sharing information about "every movement and action taken by himself, the kidnappers, and those with whom they came in contact during his period of captivity," said fbi.gov.
Investigators identified the ranch and those involved in the kidnapping plot.
George and Kathryn Kelly were among several people captured and convicted of crimes linked to the abduction.
The Kellys were sentenced in October 1933 to life imprisonment.
George Kelly initially was imprisoned at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, according to alcatrazhistory.com.
"Kelly was arrogant towards prison officials, and bragged to the press that he would escape, break out his wife and they would spend Christmas together," it said. "It was decided that these threats should be taken seriously and in August of 1934, Kelly along with his accomplices Albert Bates and Harvey Bailey, were transferred from Leavenworth by train to Alcatraz. Arriving on Sept. 4, 1934, they would be among the first groups of prisoners."
Kelly remained until 1951 at Alcatraz, then was transferred back to Leavenworth, where he died in 1954.
Kathryn Kelly was imprisoned at Cincinnati, Ohio, where she served until she was released in 1958. She died in 1985, according to fbi.gov.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: These 5 men with Kansas connections were inmates at Alcatraz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
31 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Black people on campuses support fighting antisemitism and also wonder, ‘What about us?'
Antisemitism is abhorrent. No Jewish person should ever experience it, and universities must do all they can to eradicate it on campuses. The Trump administration is pushing colleges and universities to address antisemitism by threatening, freezing and revoking federal funding and demanding millions of dollars to settle allegations — or in UCLA's case, $1 billion. These unprecedented federal penalties, which the government claims are partially for failing to address antisemitism, leave lots of Black people who either attended or worked at predominantly white institutions asking, 'What about us?' Reports of antisemitism sound familiar to Black people who have encountered anti-Black harassment in similar forms. Generations of Black collegians and employees have been called racial slurs on campuses. The N-word also has been spray-painted and nooses have been hung on Black students' dorms, on Black culture centers and on portraits and statues of influential Black people across campuses. Student body presidents who are Black, as well as other Black student organization leaders and employees, have received death threats. One social media post promised: 'I'm going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see.' Black people have been physically assaulted on campus grounds; been threatened and targeted by white supremacist hate groups who gain access to campuses; and been racially profiled by campus security personnel. Black campus police officers have reported experiencing 'unbearable' racism themselves. For decades, predominantly white sororities and fraternities have denied Black students membership on the basis of race. Additionally, too many Greek-letter organizations have hosted blackface parties mocking Black people, including some attendees wearing nooses around their necks and others pretending to be enslaved Africans or white enslavers. These and other encounters with anti-Black racism are long-standing, persistent and pervasive. Asking 'what about us' is not intended to diminish the severity of antisemitism or the dangers that Jewish students face. Posing this question also does not indicate that Black people are antisemitic. It comes neither from a standpoint of hatred toward nor carelessness for Jewish people. In fact, firsthand encounters with unchecked racism and harassment on campuses deepen many Black people's empathy for and outrage on behalf of anyone experiencing discrimination and hate, including Jews. And many Jewish people who are Black know such hostility all too well, having faced both antisemitism and anti-Black racism. According to FBI data published in 2024, of the 950 religiously motivated hate crimes that occurred at educational institutions between 2018 and 2022, 78.4% were targeted at Jewish people. That is terrible and unacceptably high. During those same years, the statistics also show that of the 2,624 racially motivated hate crimes on campuses, 64.4% were targeted at Black people. That also is terrible and unacceptably high. Educational institutions across the U.S. clearly have serious problems with hate crimes against both Jewish and Black people. But for some reason, the Trump administration is neglecting to hold colleges and universities financially accountable for one like it is the other. For more than two decades, I have conducted research on campus racial climates. Surveys of and interviews with millions of students, faculty and staff on hundreds of campuses turned up numerous examples of antisemitism and far more examples of anti-Black racism. Volume and frequency do not make one any more or less important than the other. Both deserve fierce institutional and governmental responses. Islamophobia, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, weight and body-type bias, ableism, ageism and every other form of discrimination and abuse also deserve the most serious forms of accountability. But that has not happened, at least not in the manner or to the extent that it is occurring now in the name of combating antisemitism. There is shamefully abundant evidence of attacks on Jewish people on campuses. This warrants an immediate response by the federal government, by campus leaders, by state officials and anyone else who has the power to effect change. Meanwhile, Black students and employees are also continuing to experience unforgivably high levels of racial discrimination, harassment and abuse. Why is this not receiving a serious response from the Trump administration? Why has no college or university ever been required or expected to pay $1 billion (or any amount close to that) for the racial discrimination and violence that Black people endure on campuses? From today onward, what price will institutions of higher education pay for anti-Black racism? Shaun Harper is a professor of education, business and public policy at USC and the author of 'The Big Lie About Race in America's Schools.'
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
The Politics of Crime Are Perilous for Left and Right Alike
It was an object lesson in the politics of crime. After President Trump called Washington a city of 'crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor, and summoned the National Guard and the F.B.I. to patrol its streets, his opponents on the left reacted with righteous indignation. They called the move a cynical move to exploit a crime crisis that they say does not exist, in a city where violent crime is at a 30-year low. But whatever the statistics say, polls consistently show that many people in the nation's capital — including in communities that typically vote Democratic — are deeply concerned about public safety. That makes downplaying street crime politically perilous. Mr. Trump's opponents had walked into a trap. But it's one that Republicans had also faced only a few days earlier. A succession of high-profile shootings in broad daylight — on Park Avenue, outside the Centers for Disease Control, at a Target parking lot in Texas — drew attention and sparked anxiety this summer. Each led to familiar calls for assault weapon bans and other gun safety laws from the political left. It is a message that politicians on the right have long struggled to rebut, even though the statistics are on their side: mass shootings make up a tiny portion of gun crimes, and recent data from the Gun Violence Archive show that such shootings are falling nearly to prepandemic levels. (There were well over 600 mass shootings annually during the peak pandemic years; more than halfway through 2025, there have been 271.) Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Farmers deploy unexpected aid to protect livestock from grizzly bears: 'We're not constantly worrying'
Farmers deploy unexpected aid to protect livestock from grizzly bears: 'We're not constantly worrying' Because of successful conservation efforts and habitat protection, grizzly bears are thriving in Montana, but farmers aren't necessarily thrilled about the news. The animals have started roaming on their properties, stealing food, and becoming a threat to their young children. But livestock guardian dogs are making farm life much safer for both bears and humans alike. As the New York Times reported, grizzlies are protected under the Endangered Species Act, which has allowed their populations to increase dramatically over the past 50 years. As a result, the bears have expanded their territory into new areas, including those near human development. Conveniently for the bears, populated areas have more food availability, and as the bears scavenge for grains and other foods grown on farms, it increases the risk of human-wildlife conflicts. That's why farmers in Montana have started employing "bear dogs" to protect their families and food supplies, and so far, it seems to be working quite well. Steve and Julie Ahrens, who have been farming wheat, barley, and chickpeas in northern Montana for nearly half a century, were eager for a solution after four grizzlies showed up on their land in 2020. When the bears figured out how much food they kept in grain bins on the property, their visits became much more frequent. The couple decided to call Wesley Sarmento, a former bear manager for Montana's wildlife agency, for help, but unfortunately, attempts to keep the grizzlies away using electric fencing, traps, and alarms were unsuccessful. And after hearing that a bear killed dozens of chickens at a nearby farm, he knew a longer-term solution was needed — and fast. Later in 2020, another farmer told him that once his son brought home a livestock guardian dog, their bear problems disappeared. Large dogs such as shepherds have been used for centuries to keep carnivores away from livestock and people, and now that bears are making a comeback, these gentle giants are once again being called to do what they do best: protect. Sarmento teamed up with Julie Young, an ecology professor at Utah State University, to study how well three Turkish breeds — the Kangal, the Boz, and the Anatolian — could keep bears from infiltrating farms and asked several local farmers, including the Ahrenses, if they would participate. When Billy, a Kangal, first arrived on their farm, they admittedly were a bit worried about how he would mesh with their family and other animals. But after a few weeks, he fit right in, and he's been scaring bears away from their property for years. What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard? Mowing the lawn Controlling weeds Keeping pests at bay I don't have a yard Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. In fact, the Ahrenses reported zero bear sightings until earlier this spring when a mother and her cubs wandered onto their yard. Overall, though, Billy's had an impressive track record for keeping the family safe, and other farmers have also noticed the benefits of having the guard dogs around. The study, which was published in Biological Conservation, found a 90% decrease in bears within 1,000 feet of the four farms that received bear dogs. In addition, there were 58-fold fewer camera-trap detections of bears visiting farms with guardian dogs compared to farms that did not have dogs. While further research is needed, the results are promising and show that bears and humans can coexist with the help of man's best friend. At Stick Leg Ranch, where a bear killed farmowner Seth and Jennie Becker's chickens, the new family pets — two Anatolian shepherds, Zia and Astra — have finally allowed life to return to normal on the farm. "We love bears, but we also love that we now feel safer and that we're not constantly worrying," Jennie Becker told the Times. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
