One reader wrote: If all of the wicked, hate crimes could be taken out of the secret places and stand in the light, this country could be healed!. Don't knowingly lie about anyone Morris died four days after the Ku Klux Klan torched his business. They made it- but what happened next is shocking. They were then able to climb up to an unguarded utility corridor, where they began to store things, such as raincoats, and DIY life preservers, which they copied from pictures in Popular Mechanics magazine. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, or anything. Mysteries, murders and other tales of the Unexplained from my blog entries, Also available on other Amazon sites. YOUR RATING. According to the official version, Frank Morris, and the brothers John and Clarence Anglin were presumed drowned in the cold and choppy waters of San My Gods it's unwatchable. By his late teens he was serving his first jail sentence. The Klansmen, by and large, were cowards individually, but real brave when they had seven or eight standing with them. His intelligence likely helped him and his fellow prisoners orchestrate an escape from Alcatraz.He was portrayed by actor Clint Eastwood in the 1979 film, Escape from Alcatraz. During his talk, Nelson showed his audience a photograph of a 1922 coin belonging to a Silver Dollar Group member whose son let him see it. This confrontation triggered the arson. These crude efforts managed to buy them valuable time when they escaped. All three men knew each other from previous prison stays. Nelson said the group formed after Ole Miss University was integrated as well as after the passing of Civil Rights and voting bills for African Americans. What was going through Morriss mind when he faced his attackers? Thinking about Morris, I wondered how in Gods name one human could purposely set another on fire. Mostpeople believe that the men died in their escape, but a number ofpeople believe they made it. Stanley Nelson is editor of the Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, Louisiana. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. I have cancer. Alcatraz was regarded as the last resort of prisons. Frank Morris was a child of the Depression era. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. He had been asleep in the back of his shoe shop when he heard glass breaking shortly after midnight on December 10, 1964. It was used primarily as a military prison until, in 1933, the href="http://ghostsofdc.org/tag/department-of-justice/">Department ofJustice acquired the island for use as a maximum security prisonfor the worst of the worst felons. Most suspects and witnesses were elderly or dead. Browse important and historic events, world leaders, famous birthdays and notable deaths from the year 1962. He had previously escaped from the Louisiana State Penitentiary whilst serving a 10-year sentence for bank robbery. There's always a legend, but I don't think it's going to happen. At the end of the film Escape From Alcatraz, Patrick McGoohan, as the Prison Governor, is heard insisting that they had drowned. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. I have interviewed hundreds of people in some unusual placesin cornfields, cemeteries and nursing By May 1962, the holes were complete. They were expecting swift justice but had much to learn about how courts work. Thats when I began to try to find out what happened to Frank Morris.. Just check it out below and by the way, did you know rap sheet is an acronym forrecord of arrest and prosecution? Morris tried to exit the front door, Nelson said, but the man with the shotgun pointed it at Morris head and told him to go back inside. During the last years of his life, Morris hosted a weekly gospel radio show on KFNV in Ferriday. At the same time, he was working with several universities to obtain FBI documents, including some that no one had ever seen. Use the 'Report' link on She began to tell me what it was like growing up after losing a grandfather that way, Nelson recalled. Morriss father and step-mother lived in the Ferriday area and hired private nurses to attend to him while he was in the hospital after the arson. Morris was a professional inmate, havinglived a life behind bars for the better part of his life. I knew God required me to forgive Tommy at some point, he said, but I could have dropped it after that and probably would have felt more comfortable. It was where men were sent who were deemed too troublesome for other prisons, or who had tried too many escape attempts. For his part, Frank Morris said it had been easier to forgive Pigage than to build a relationship with him afterward. The true story, based on a Deathbed Confession, about what really happened to Frank Morris His refusal to provide continued free shoe repair work for a notorious Concordia Parish deputy may have been the trigger for the arson. Nelson, who grew up in Ferriday, said he was 9 years old when Morris was murdered, though he had never heard of the man nor the popular barber shop he owned until the FBIs announcement in 2007. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism Morris yelled, Hey, stop that! Suddenly, the building was ignited, and Morris was in a sea of flame and smoke. There were no other missing people during that time period.". For 10 years, Nelson investigated a string of Civil Rights-era murders committed by the Ku Klux Klan in southwest Mississippi and northeastern Louisiana. The sentence was originally six years, ninemonths and 18 days, however, he was paroled in less than a year. Share with Us. Some canceled subscriptions. Nelson and his family were together in the car, driving back home to Ferriday on what seemed like a normal night. Alcatraz was closed in 1963, a year after the escape, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Most leads aren't really that good or credible. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. Anne Frank was taken by the Nazi's on August 4, 1944 What happened to the prisoners when Alcatraz closed down? A month later the DOJ and the local district attorney convened a grand jury in Concordia Parish to look into this murder. It doesnt matter who you are. The following day, a search party found the remains of the raincoatraft on Angel Island, two miles north of Alcatraz. The car was entirely engulfed in flames, taking the lives of an entire family inside, including a 7-year-old girl. Although it's not certain where the urban myth began, US Marshal Michael Dyke spent the day on the island anyway, just in case. 1 Oak Grove in playoffs, Pine Grove man pleads no contest to charges of molesting a juvenile, must serve five years of probation, SOFTBALL | French Settlement bringing young, but veteran squad back to Sulphur, BASEBALL | Live Oak gets solid pitching, plenty of offense to take series lead against Dutchtown, Amid threat of litigation, Livingston Parish Council to consider rescinding approved zoning maps, BASEBALL | Live Oak outlasts Dutchtown to win series and advance to quarterfinals, SOFTBALL | French Settlement vs. Montgomery | Photo Gallery, SOFTBALL | Albany vs. North DeSoto | Photo Gallery, SOFTBALL | French Settlement vs. Vinton | Photo Gallery, SOFTBALL | Live Oak vs. Sam Houston | Photo Gallery, SOFTBALL | Doyle vs. Kaplan | Photo Gallery, SOFTBALL | Albany vs. And we will never know how many people were killed during that era, Nelson said. A couple of years later, on November 13, 1940, he was convictedof theft and sentenced to the href="http://ghostsofdc.org/tag/national-training-school-for-boys/">NationalTraining School for Boys, a reform school in northeast D.C., wherehe was taught to repair shoes. After my first story appeared, his granddaughter, Rosa Williams, called. Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and his brother John Anglin escaped from the notorious penitentiary with a raft made of raincoats and left behind plaster dummies in their beds. He saw it near Wisner, Louisiana, a small town of less than 1,000 located about an hours drive south of Monroe. "I think there's a good possibility that they survived," US Marshal Michael Dyke says. WebThe Anglin Brothers and Frank Morris were the names of the prisoners that escaped from the high security prison in June 1962. IMDb RATING. During his stay, he was interviewed by Paul Lancaster, an FBI agent who recorded his three-hour conversation with Morris. Marshals Service sent the letter to the FBI for analysis and the results came back inconclusive. The man with the shotgun blocked his escape through the front door as he pointed the barrel at Morris while shouting, Get back in there, nigger!. He was orphaned by the age of 11, and farmed out to foster homes. The case was transferred over to the United States MarshalsService and, in 1993, it was reopened. Elizabeth Morris continued to visit Pigage in jail, and White ordered that he could be released to the couples custody for church and other outings. Morris meant a lot to Ferriday, Nelson said, particularly to the young African American men who got their first jobs at Morris shop. It is in his memory and in hope for racial reconciliation and for justice that Ferriday honors the life of this good citizen. She couldnt understand what her grandfather had done to make someone do that.. In it, Anglin claimed that Morris had died in 2008 and his brother in 2011. The difference with Frank Morris, and his fellow escapees the Anglin brothers, is no one knows what happened to them. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Frank Morris was an honest man who worked hard, lived modestly and dedicated himself to serving this community. What happened to Frank Morris | Pulitzer Prize finalist discusses string of Klan murders during talk at Livingston Parish Library David Gray | The News Dec 11, The grand jury handed them their first disappointment, reducing the murder charge to second-degree manslaughter. Criminal who successfully escaped from Alcatraz in June of 1962 and was never found.He was rumored to have the high IQ score of 133. Morriss shop was torched in December 1964. 2023 BBC. Morris died four days after the Ku Klux Klan torched his business. Action Crime. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it was reviewing 100-plus unsolved Civil Rights era murders, including Frank Morris'. At 6 feet, 4 inches and 250-plus pounds, DeLaughter was a Klansman and a suspect in many crimes. They continued, climbing two successive 12-foot, barbed-wire fencesand headed for the islands northeast shore to inflate the raft.By 10 p.m. that evening, they had set off into the dense fog coveringthe bay. We have to keep the case open since no bodies have been found, but about a month after they escaped in July 1962 a Norwegian freighter saw a body floating in the ocean 15 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. Did you know that you can travel to Angola with an eVisa? Don't Threaten. Also available on other Amazon sites. The only way of escaping the Island would have been to have either swam or on a raft. ", "There's still a chance," he added. Investigated by the US Marshals.The true story, based on a Deathbed Confession, about what really happened to Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers who escaped from Alcatraz Prison in 1962. The 51-year-old businessman was forced to find his way through fire and smoke to the back door. By what name was Alcatraz Prison Escape: Deathbed Confession (2015) officially released in Canada in English? As career criminals they would have had no trouble stealing cars, food and clothes to survive, but this would very likely lead to their arrest and capture. Rate. To further add to the mystery, footsteps were seen heading awayfrom the raft on the beach. But this was one of the most daring and intricate escapes in the notorious prison's history - involving spoons, papier-mache heads and rubber raincoats. They made their escape off the island in a 6-by-14-foot, homemade rubber raft that was made from raincoats. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and owner is strictly prohibited. Their disappointment peaked last October, 22 months after the accident, when Pigage changed his plea to guilty and was freed on probation. They would have to completely keep their heads down, and not draw any attention to themselves at all. Freedom did not last long for Frank as he violated it within a yearand was back in reform school at Chillicothe, Ohio in 1943. Accordion practice muffled the sound of the drilling, and cardboard was carefully used to cover each hole as it grew. Of Frank, no trace has ever been found. The hate and the bitterness I was feeling was destroying me, Elizabeth Morris said. On June 13, 1952, he was sentenced to serve 10 years at theLouisiana State Penitentiary for possession of narcotics and armedrobbery. person will not be tolerated. Frank Morris was 51 years old at the time of his murder. After we wrote the story, the grand jury was coming for him, but before the grand jury took any action, the suspect died.. committed his first crime by age 13, and by his late teens had been arrested and convicted for crimes such as narcotics possession and armed robbery. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? The doctor didnt think hed live but a few hours, but he survived for four days, Nelson said. I could hear the pain of that 12-year-old girl in her voice and it reminded me of the time in high school when I witnessed the death of a young family in a fiery automobile accident. We wanted him dead.. According to the official version, Frank Morris, and the brothers John and Clarence Anglin were presumed drowned in the cold and choppy waters of San Francisco Bay. I did not. She went backstage after the lecture, but her sympathy evaporated when she smelled liquor on his breath. Frank Morris: Born in D.C., Escaped From Alcatraz. To solve a murder, I said. According to the FBI, authorities found pieces of a woode n paddle and a rubber inner tube in the water around Alcatraz after the escape. Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Alcatraz Prison itself closed down a year later in 1963, largely due to the ruinous costs of keeping it going, and the salt water damage caused to the buildings. This would be difficult enough to do for a short time, but for decades afterwards? Why did Frank Morris get sent to Alcatraz? He was convicted of his first crime at age 13, and by his late teens had been arrested for crimes ranging from narcotics possession to armed robbery. He served time in Florida and Georgia, then escaped from the Louisiana State Penitentiary while serving 10 years for bank robbery. Most prisoners who tried to flee The Rock, as it became known, were captured, killed or drowned. Click here for more from Around the Web -->, Livingston Parish Court News December 2020, Livingston Parish Court News November 2020, Click here for more Court News, Felony Arrests -->, Public Notices published Thursday, April 27, 2023. The lost and untold history of Washington. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Not much of his youth isdocumented, but according to FBI documents, he was orphaned at the ageof 11 and sent to live in foster homes. His son, ex-wife and ex-brother-in-law, a former Concordia Parish deputy, contend that he is lying. Frank yells out, and as he walked toward the window, one of the men throws a match at the building, which is then instantly engulfed in flames, Nelson said. Kindle, price 1.15. A few days earlier, Nelson, editor for the Concordia Sentinel, had written a story about the FBI and Justice Departments decision to look at a series of unsolved murders from the 1960s, which included Morris case. This historical marker was erected by City of Ferriday, Louisiana. He was accepting responsibility for what he did., He looked just like a little whipped puppy, she said. They concealed their work with cardboard and paint every morning. Retired FBI agents and police officers are crucial to my reporting. He began formulating his plan to escape from Alcatraz in December 1960, when he found himself sharing adjacent cells with like-minded souls, John and Clarence Anglin (brothers, both in for bank robbery), and Allen West (who was doing time for car theft). Thank you, she said, letting me know she had learned more about her grandfathers death from one Sentinel article than she had during the past four decades. But during the early morning hours of December 10, 1964, Klansmen, under the cover of darkness, spread gasoline around the shoe shop and set it ablaze. Side note: in 1951, Charles Manson was an inmate at theschool. He told me he heard his daddy talk about for years of going to Ferriday to burn down this black mans business and that they didnt expect anyone to be there, but when they got there, that this man came out to the front, Nelson recalled. You have permission to edit this article. (And there was me thinking that Andys escape in The Shawshank Redemption was too far-fetched!) The group was named for the coin each individually-recruited Klansman was given after joining. Those who ran Alcatraz liked to say nobody ever escaped alive. It is also reputed to be very haunted, with many visitors claiming to have had disturbing experiences there, but perhaps that is a story for another time. They also found a homemade life-vest washed up on a nearby beach. Generally 99 percent aren't true.". Three of the men were able to crawl through into an unused servicecorridor behind the wall. They also constructed their own life raft. Although Pigage was not imprisoned, the terms of his five-year probation were unusual enough to get statewide publicity. Frank Morris, second from right in center group, in front of his shoe shop in the 1950s. For more than two years, Frank and Elizabeth Morris dedicated their lives to punishing the drunk driver who had killed their only child. The couple see Pigage several times a week now and have also befriended his parents, who applaud his turnaround. My mom jokes that theyve adopted me, he said. The fire had burned all the clothes off of his body, Nelson told his attentive audience, which gasped at the description. Then in her mid-50s, she called me from Las Vegas. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. The FBI agent who rushed to the hospital within hours of the arson said, If Frank would have told me who they [his attackers] were, we would have gone after the sons of bitches. Morriss friends believed he knew his attackers but was afraid to identify them.
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