Sam Shockley
Encyclopedia
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...
in 1946.
Shockley was the son of Richard "Dick" Shockley and Anna Bearden http://genforum.genealogy.com/shockley/messages/1189.html. He was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas
Arkansas City, Arkansas
Arkansas City is a town in Desha County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 366 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Desha County.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
. Shockley was arrested for bank robbery and kidnapping in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and sentenced to life imprisonment in May 1938. Examined by prison psychiatrists, Shockley was found to have an unstable character, he was found to have a low I.Q. of 54, and was prone to violent rages. He was transferred to Alcatraz from Leavenworth as it was felt the strict routine there would better manage him but even here was felt to be uncontrollable and spent much of his time in the prison's isolation unit, D-wing. In May 1941 he attempted escape from one of the island's workshops along with 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...
, Arnold Kyle and Lloyd Barkdoll. During the escape attempt the men held a number of guards hostage, but gave up when they failed to cut through the tool-proof bars.
On May 2, 1946, after Coy, Cretzer, and Hubbard took Corwin by surprise, then asked Shockley which cell Franklin was in. This enabled an inmate Bernard Coy
Bernard Coy
Bernard Paul Coy was a bank robber and federal prisoner best known as the planner of a failed escape attempt from Alcatraz prison, on May 2, 1946 which turned into a bloody two day armed confrontation leaving Coy, two fellow would be escapers and two prison guards dead.Coy was a native of Kentucky...
to release Franklin but he was supposed to be in a cell on the third tier but Shockley had informed them that he was moved into a cell that was on the first floor, which were electronically operated. Coy was aware of the red light that lit up in the gun gallery but they were unaware of a similar light that was in the armory. If the guard in the gun gallery didn't alert the other guards in the armory then it was an alert that there was a problem. The escape attempt failed due to the jamming of the recreation yard door and turned into an armed confrontation which lasted two days and was the bloodiest escape attempt witnessed on the island. Two prison guards, Bill Miller and Harold Stites, and three inmates, Coy
Bernard Coy
Bernard Paul Coy was a bank robber and federal prisoner best known as the planner of a failed escape attempt from Alcatraz prison, on May 2, 1946 which turned into a bloody two day armed confrontation leaving Coy, two fellow would be escapers and two prison guards dead.Coy was a native of Kentucky...
, 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...
and Marvin Hubbard, were all shot dead. Shockley, along with Miran Thompson
Miran Edgar Thompson
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 of San Quentin. At the time of the Battle of Alcatraz, Thompson was serving life plus 99 years for kidnapping, and for the murder of Amarillo, Texas...
and Clarence Carnes
Clarence Carnes
Clarence Victor Carnes known as The Choctaw Kid was a Choctaw Indian famous as the youngest inmate sentenced to Alcatraz, and for his participation in the bloody escape attempt known as the "Battle of Alcatraz".-Early life:Clarence Carnes was born in Daisy, Oklahoma, the oldest of five children...
, was found guilty at his subsequent trial. Nineteen-year-old Carnes escaped the death penalty after some corrections officers who had been taken hostage, testified that he had refrained from following instructions to kill them. Although Shockley pleaded insanity, he and Thompson both received death sentences. They were executed in the San Quentin 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...
on December 3, 1948.
According to Ernie Lopez, Shockley had no part in the escape; he was actually frightened and scared. The comment that he was said to have spoken, "kill them all," is believed to not be like him, and that it only came out because of how scared he was.