11. Whilst many inmates compared Alcatraz to Hell on Earth, declaring they would have preferred the death penalty, others actively chose to reside on the island
Quickly becoming feared as a nightmarish punishment, known colloquially as “Hellcatraz”, simply surviving a sentence at Alcatraz proved a psychological challenge that broke many prisoners. The cells, measuring just 9 feet by 5 feet by 7 feet, were highly primitive and provided zero privacy. Meanwhile, years passed in near-silence, with conversations between prisoners banned under the tenure of Warden Johnston. The first prisoner to commit suicide, Edward Wutke killed himself on November 13, 1937, after slicing through his jugular vein with a pencil sharpener. He would not be the last, with at least five known suicides occurring despite the close attention of the guards.
Equally falling into insanity as a result of the mental torment induced by life on Alcatraz, Rufe Persful sliced off his fingers on his right hand before requesting a fellow inmate to cut off his left fingers for him. In spite of these insufferable conditions, a minority of prisoners positively elected to reside at Alcatraz rather than other prisons due in part to this severity. Better protected than at other institutions by the high ratio of guards, inmates at Alcatraz, provided they obeyed the rules, enjoyed greater than usual comforts, including better food, access to a library consisting of ten to fifteen thousand books, and the opportunity to play musical instruments.