By the time he ended up in a Georgia penitentiary, Capone’s health was in serious decline. Long-term abuse of cocaine meant that he had a perforated septum and struggled with the symptoms of withdrawal. More importantly, he was suffering from the effects of advanced syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease he picked up while running one of Torrio’s brothels and never got treatment for. His poor health made him an easy target for other prisoners, and his cellmate worried that Capone was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Tensions with the other prisoners and concerns that Capone was getting special treatment by bribing his guards led to Capone being transferred to Alcatraz, a prison island in San Francisco Bay. At Alcatraz, Capone had his own separate cell. But he was convinced that he wasn’t alone. From the first time that Capone was imprisoned, other prisoners would sometimes hear him screaming at someone named “Jimmy.” This continued in Alcatraz when observers often heard his wailing cries demanding that Jimmy leave him alone or sometimes even just having quiet conversations with him. The problem was, no one but Capone could actually see Jimmy.
According to Capone, that’s because Jimmy was a ghost. Specifically, he was the ghost of Jimmy Clark, a minor gangster who was killed in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. In Alcatraz, Jimmy’s visits from beyond the grave became more frequent as Capone slowly slid into insanity. He would spend long hours alone in his cell plucking at a banjo or babbling to himself. Eventually, even the operators of America’s toughest prison decided that there was no point keeping Capone in captivity. He was no longer the fearsome crime kingpin he used to be; he was simply a broken-down shell.
If you’re a more skeptically-minded person, you’re probably thinking that there must be a less supernatural explanation for Capone’s ghostly visitor, and there is. By the time Capone got treatment for syphilis, it had already progressed to the final stage, where it begins attacking the brain. Over time, this neurosyphilis destroys brain cells and can lead to hallucinations and insanity. The damage to Capone’s brain is the most likely explanation for why he thought he was being haunted by a ghost. Ironically, it was also the thing that ultimately prevented him from dying in prison.
Capone was paroled in 1939 and sent for medical treatment in Baltimore before retiring to his mansion in Palm Island, Florida. There his mental deterioration continued. In 1946, a psychiatrist examining Capone determined that his remaining mental capacity was equivalent to that of a twelve-year-old. All the while, he continued to be haunted by the vengeful spirit of Jimmy Clark. In 1947, Capone died of a heart attack. He was 48. For many, the idea that the ghost of one of his victims hounded Capone into insanity and an early grave provides a comforting sense of justice. Even if it was probably just in his head.