Warden Edwin Burnham Swope: 1948-1955
Edwin B. Swope was appointed as the second Warden of Alcatraz in April of 1948.
Warden Swope was known as a tough taskmaster and strict disciplinarian. But despite his authoritarian reputation, he also initiated a variety of inmate reform programs. He is seen here in a meeting with staff members.
Swope facilitating a meeting with his supervisory staff.
Warden Swope and his wife sitting in the rounded parlor of the Warden’s mansion at Christmas in 1954.
On April 30, 1948, Edwin B. Swope was appointed as the new Warden of Alcatraz at fifty-nine years of age. He would replace Warden Johnston, who had reached the mandatory retirement age of seventy-four. Swope carried a tough reputation as a strict disciplinarian. When the newspapers discussed how he would approach his new position, he would comment: “It will be different alright.” Swope was a believer in reform and he held to the concept of creating a structured plan for inmates to follow. He was firm and strict, and he had his own vision of how to deal with incorrigible inmates.
Swope was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 6, 1888, and he left a political career to enter the prison service. He had served as the New Mexico State Democratic Chairman, the State Land Commissioner, and later as a County Treasurer. While working as the Albuquerque City Commissioner in the 1920’s, Swope became appalled at the horrific conditions in the city jail. He made the decision to take up prison work, and to help develop strict programs that would successfully reform inmates in a humane environment. During one interview with the press in April of 1948, just before taking his new assignment, Swope would be quoted as saying:
Alcatraz is the supreme end of a criminal career. Alcatraz gets all of the rotten apples out of the barrel. If one can get a new seed to grow from those rotten apples, they’re on the right track.
By the time Swope stepped off the prison launch onto Alcatraz, he had already served in various Warden appointments in a prison service career that spanned more than eighteen years. Swope had worked at the State Penitentiary in New Mexico, and at the federal penitentiaries at McNeil Island, Terre Haute, Indiana, and Englewood, Colorado. He had been credited with turning around McNeil, and he was the first choice of Bureau Director James Bennett when making his selection for Johnston’s replacement.
Warden Johnston proved to be a tough act to follow, and Swope made many decisions that were unpopular with the correctional officers. In one instance he removed the stools from the tower posts, and in another, he forced the officers to serve meals to inmates during a strike. A fair number of officers ultimately became resentful of Swope’s leadership style. The guards usually contested his decisions and won, but Swope maintained his firm headship. Former Officer and Captain of the Guard Phil Bergen recalled:
Swope was a tough act. I can’t say that I ever liked him. He lived and died by the rules, and he didn’t let the inmates get away with killing a fly, or even the officers for that matter. I can remember working in D-Block and Swope would check the “Hole” cells and make sure that the lights were left off by the officers, and the fronts closed. He wanted to make sure those men did hard time.
Although many of his decisions were not well received, Swope also instituted several inmate programs that proved popular with the inmate population. In his first year he arranged for the inmates to see two movies per month, and loosened censorship to allow westerns and an occasional wartime film. Comedies featuring actors such as Shirley Temple and Laurel and Hardy had been the most common style of films selected by Johnston and the Chaplain. Swope also increased recreation time on weekends, and extended visitation privileges.
Warden Paul Joseph Madigan: 1955-1961
Paul J. Madigan, the third Warden of Alcatraz.
Paul Madigan, pictured here with his wife, advanced through the ranks at Alcatraz. He had previously held a variety of positions including Captain, Lieutenant, and Associate Warden. Madigan had a very diplomatic style of leadership with staff and inmates alike.
Prior to his appointment as Warden, Paul Madigan had navigated his way through a variety of positions at Alcatraz. Therefore his perspective was unlike that of any of his predecessors. Madigan had originally transferred to Alcatraz from Leavenworth as a correctional officer. He was well liked by most of the correctional staff at Alcatraz, having been promoted through the ranks, and having served in various appointments including Captain, Lieutenant, and later Associate Warden. Madigan had a unique and diplomatic approach in his directorship. He possessed the skills of a soft-spoken mediator, and when necessary, he was not afraid to issue unpopular directives to both the staff and the inmate population. Madigan challenged the old regime of Alcatraz. He abolished the solitary confinement bread and water diet, and on one occasion, encouraged inmates in good standing to donate blood to the Irwin Memorial Blood Bank in San Francisco.
Madigan was also credited with preventing the 1941 escape of Joe Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Arnold Kyle and Lloyd Barkdoll. He skillfully talked the inmates into surrendering after he had been tied up and threatened. By the time the other officers were alerted to the escape attempt and had arrived to assist him, Madigan had already convinced the desperate inmates to give themselves up, and was escorting them up to the Treatment Unit.
Madigan carried the affectionate nickname of “Promising Paul,” which was given to him by other officers, since he frequently made promises that would never be fulfilled. Nevertheless, Madigan was considered a great Warden by most of those who worked with him. He was a devout Catholic and attended mass with the inmates in the prison chapel. He was also credited with adding cigars to the inmates’ Christmas gift packages, and creating special holiday meals for the general population. In late 1941, following the escape attempt of Cretzer, Barkdoll, Kyle and Shockley, Madigan was promoted to the post of Associate Warden at the Terminal Island Federal Correctional Facility in Southern California. He later received another promotion, and transferred to Minnesota. He returned to serve at Alcatraz from 1955 until 1961, and then he accepted a transfer to McNeil Island. Prior to his departure, he would appoint Associate Warden Blackwell to be his successor.
Warden Olin G. Blackwelclass="underline" 1961-1963
The last Warden of Alcatraz, Olin Blackwell. Over his brief term as Warden, he relaxed numerous longstanding strict regulations, including those regarding censorship and visitation limits.
Deputy Director of the Bureau of Prisons Fred T. Wilkinson and Alcatraz Warden Olin Blackwell on March 23, 1963, the day Alcatraz closed.
Warden Blackwell pictured at the wheel of a motorized cart that he used to travel about the island.