Rufus William Franklin (1916-1975) was an American

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

who served a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

in Alcatraz. He is best known for taking part in the third documented attempted escape from Alcatraz Prison with

Thomas R. Limerick Thomas Robert Limerick (January 7, 1902 – May 23, 1938) was an American criminal, who took part in the third documented escape attempt from Alcatraz Island on the night of May 23, 1938. Biography Thomas Limerick was born on January 7, 19 ...

and

James C. Lucas James Crittenton Lucas (June 11, 1912 – November 28, 1998) was an American criminal who served a life sentence in Alcatraz. He is best known for being part of an attempted escape from Alcatraz Penitentiary in 1938, and for attacking Al Capone in ...

on the night of May 23, 1938.

Biography

He was born in Alabama, in either

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kansas *Calhoun, Kentucky ...

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

or Montgomery Counties. Franklin was originally sentenced to imprisonment for bank robbery, car theft, and assault. He was then transferred to Alcatraz, where he became inmate number 335-AZ.

Alcatraz escape attempt

In the spring of 1938, Franklin,

and

planned an escape from Alcatraz. Their escape plan began by incapacitating an unarmed guard supervising a work detail on the top floor. Once the supervisor was rendered unconscious, the convicts would escape through a window to the rooftop, where they would incapacitate an armed guard and leave the island via a seized police boat. They enacted their escape plan on May 23, 1938 in the prison's mat shop, where they assaulted Custodial Officer Royal Cline with hammer blows to his head. They proceeded to the roof, where an armed guard shot both Franklin and Limerick, although Lucas wasn't shot. Other guards arrived at the scene. Franklin, Limerick, and Lucas were cornered and surrendered to the guards. Cline died of his injuries the next day, as did Limerick. Franklin and

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''L ...

, the other surviving convict, were tried for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

and sentenced to life

imprisonment Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

, after the jury spared them from execution. Franklin spent many years of solitary confinement in Alcatraz's D Block. He was eventually transferred to the Atlanta federal prison where he was paroled in 1974. Franklin died a year later.

References

External links

Alcatraz Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Rufus 1916 births 1975 deaths Inmates of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary American bank robbers American people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by the United States federal government American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government People convicted of robbery American people convicted of assault

Biography

Alcatraz escape attempt

See also

References

External links