Miran Edgar Thompson was an inmate of Alcatraz whose participation in an attempted escape on May 2, 1946 led to his execution in the gas chamber

Gas chamber

A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...

 of San Quentin. At the time of the Battle of Alcatraz

Battle of Alcatraz

The Battle of Alcatraz, which lasted from May 2–4, 1946, was the result of an unsuccessful escape attempt at Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary. Two guards—William A. Miller and Harold Stites—were killed along with three of the inmates. Eleven guards and one convict were also injured...

, Thompson was serving life

Life imprisonment

Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...

 plus 99 years for kidnapping

Kidnapping

In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

, and for the murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 of Amarillo

Amarillo, Texas

Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 police officer Detective Lemuel Dodd Savage. Thompson had a record of eight escapes from custody by the time he was transferred to Alcatraz in October 1945.

Detective Savage was shot and killed while transporting Thompson and Elber Day to jail. Savage had arrested the two when he found them burglarizing

Burglary

Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...

 a store. He searched the two suspects before transporting, but missed a handgun hidden in Thompson's pants. During the transport, Thompson produced the gun and shot Savage. As Thompson fled, he kidnapped three other people before being apprehended.

Detective Savage was survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.

Thompson was convicted of federal kidnapping charges and sent to Alcatraz Prison. While in Alcatraz, Thompson was part of an escape attempt that ultimately left Correctional Officer Harold Stites and Correctional Officer William Miller, of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, dead from gunshot wounds.

Battle of Alcatraz

On May 2, 1946, Thompson, with five other inmates, participated in the unsuccessful attempt to escape Alcatraz by seizing the prison's gun gallery and then the prison launch to San Francisco. Although initially successful, the convicts failed to open the yard door and the failed escape turned into a bloody struggle that lasted almost two days before prison authorities regained control. Thompson survived the fighting, which left two corrections officers dead and thirteen wounded, and three convicts dead. Thompson was tried for his part in the violence, specifically accused of inciting Joe Cretzer

Joseph Paul Cretzer

Joseph Paul Cretzer was an American bank robber and prisoner at Alcatraz who participated in and was slain in the bloody "Battle of Alcatraz" which took place following a failed escape attempt between May 2 and May 4, 1946.-Criminal career:Cretzer started his criminal...

 to open fire on nine hostage guards in an effort to eliminate witnesses.

Thompson was found guilty along with inmate Sam Shockley

Sam Shockley

Richard Sam Shockley Jr. was an inmate at Alcatraz prison who participated in the Battle of Alcatraz in 1946....

, and they were both executed in the gas chamber of San Quentin on December 3, 1948.

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