422:
Persful requested a transfer back to
Alcatraz. He specifically requested confinement in D-Block, but this was declined due to his mental instability. Several months later attempts were made to place him in a group cell, but his cellmates warned staff that they would murder him, so he was sent back to his single cell. Persful was beaten 18 months later when a fellow prisoner was given access to his cell during his cleaning duties. Persful requested to be permanently locked inside his cell for the rest of the duration of his sentence. The warden declined his request and he was beaten a further two times when security lapsed before being released from prison in April 1948.
286:'s prisons. He was given the duty of "high power", shooting fellow inmates in the belly button if they attempted to flee from the fields. After shooting a prisoner who tried to escape, his sentence was reduced to 9 years but he was almost immediately released on parole. About 18 months later, he was indicted for shooting a woman in the back with a shotgun, but was never tried. Back at the prison farm, he resumed his position, shot another prisoner attempting to escape, and was paroled again as a reward. After several months, he committed an
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to serve twenty years. Despite
Atlanta's reputation as a prison where inmates stuck together, two convicts knew Persful from the Arkansas penitentiary, and word spread of his killing and maiming of fellow prisoners. He began being severely beaten and bullied by his fellow inmates. The Atlanta prison
421:
He was then transferred to McNeil Island, where he was booed in the dining hall. Days after arriving, word quickly got out of his history amongst inmates. He was closely monitored by guards. His job was to clean cells after the inmates had vacated them, to avoid confrontation. In
November 1941,
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Once he was transferred to
Alcatraz, his murder of a pregnant female prisoner was discovered. He apparently killed her to conceal a rape. Once this was exposed by the prison doctor, the issue became a widely publicized national scandal involving murders of inmates by other inmates.
294:, but again resumed his former position, during which he killed one and permanently disabled three others who attempted to flee. A circuit judge refused him parole, but he was released on parole for a fourth time 8 months after he killed four prisoners attempting to escape.
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318:
officials eventually learned of the frequent abuse and violence facing
Persful, and in December 1935 sent him to Alcatraz. However, he continued to be unpopular with the inmates, many of whom had transferred to Alcatraz from Atlanta and knew of his history.
356:, where he had to be forcibly restrained as the staff treated him. However, the sequence of this incident is disputed, as it is also mentioned that Persful's fingers were cut off due to his hand getting jammed while closing the workshop door.
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a year later but was recognized and continued to be tortured by his fellow inmates because of his past offenses. In 1937, Persful attempted to cut off his hands in sheer desperation of his experiences at
Alcatraz and was diagnosed with
269:
Penitentiary, where he was again recognized and suffered much abuse from his fellow inmates, despite being heavily watched over by the prison staff. Persful was released in April 1948 and moved in with a relative in
418:. He was known as a "wanton killer" for his murder of six men, his wife and child. He probably killed many more. There is also conjecture that he killed three prisoners purposely because they were black.
241:. He was given the task of shooting fellow inmates with a shotgun if they attempted to escape. He killed and disabled many prisoners during his time at the Arkansas Penitentiary, punctuated by periods of
535:
Carl
Janaway – Smartest Bandit of the Cookson Hills: Last Surviving Bank Robber of the 1930s, Builder of Getaway Cars for "Pretty Boy" Floyd & Nursemaid to Al Capone in Alcatraz Prison
230:(May 25, 1906 – May 16, 1991) was an American criminal, convicted of murder, kidnapping and robbery. He was considered one of the most dangerous criminals of his era by the authorities.
389:
were imprisoned at
Alcatraz when the Persful incident occurred. Following this incident a policy change regarding silence was made. As the incident received publicity in the news media,
333:. Persful became one of the most guarded inmates in Alcatraz. Nonetheless, Persful continued to be heavily abused and in fear of his life. In September 1936 he sent a letter to
344:; as a result some nine months later he took an axe and cut off four fingers from his left hand. This was done to seek attention and get transferred to the medical center in
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as a reward for his prison protection, and then re-offending and being sent back to resume his role. In
December 1934, Persful was convicted for kidnapping and robbery in
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living in his cell and he attempted to make nooses out of bed linen and towels to hang himself. He was assessed by the prison psychiatrist to have
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At the age of 18, Persful was convicted of the murder and robbery of an elderly man. He was sentenced to 15 years of farm labor in one of the
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In the months following the mutilation incident
Persful's mental health continued to decline; he would frequently complain of there being an
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on his wrist to stop the bleeding. He was said to have grinned maniacally as he chopped his four fingers off. Persful was taken to the
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253:. Two inmates recognized him from Arkansas and word spread of his killing of fellow inmates and he began being severely abused.
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393:, the then Director of the Bureau of Prisons, clarified that the incident was the result of mental derangement by Rufes.
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373:, Persful's hand mutilation was enacted in the movie. This scene is disputed due to the fact that the lead up to the
329:, a former inmate of Atlanta who called him a "shotgun son of a bitch". Persful was sent to solitary confinement in
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Persful's mental instability grew while in Alcatraz, partially due to the strict silence enforced there by Warden
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One of the most dangerous criminal for his era and being physically tortured and beaten by fellow inmates.
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Convicted of the murder and robbery of an elderly man at the age of 18, he was sentenced to 15 years in
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on grounds of insanity. The guard and another inmate took away the hatchet from Persful and put a
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in Paragould, Arkansas and robbing the Schug Brothers of some $ 1000 with his companion
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429:, and was never convicted of a crime for the rest of his life. He died in 1991.
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After release from prison, Persful moved in with a relative in
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In December 1934, Persful was convicted of the kidnapping of a
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State Penitentiary, but unlike a standard prison, it involved
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and sentenced to 20 years, after which he was transferred to
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The Rock: a history of Alcatraz : the fort/the prison
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actually took place nearly 25 years later, and neither
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448:"The Rock: A history of Alcatraz Island, 1847–1972"
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495:Ward, David A.; Kassebaum, Gene G. (19 May 2009).
685:. D&M Publishers Incorporated. p. 134.
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501:. University of California Press. p. 140.
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325:Persful was involved in a brutal fight with
274:, never to be convicted of a crime again.
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759:Inmates of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
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410:type and in January 1938 he was sent to
749:American people convicted of kidnapping
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779:People convicted of murder by Arkansas
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290:and was sentenced to 5 years in the
774:American people convicted of murder
315:United States Penitentiary, Atlanta
251:United States Penitentiary, Atlanta
198:United States Penitentiary, Atlanta
538:. AuthorHouse Press. p. 116.
14:
645:Odier, L'Image . (28 July 2009).
284:Arkansas Department of Correction
754:People from Jonesboro, Arkansas
651:. L'Image Odier. p. 134.
375:June 1962 escape from Alcatraz
1:
258:Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
203:Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
498:Alcatraz: The Gangster Years
265:. He was eventually sent to
301:Alcatraz profile of Persful
194:Arkansas State Penitentiary
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567:"Convict Cuts Off His Arm"
532:Courtney, Gary D. (2009).
412:Springfield Medical Centre
769:People with schizophrenia
764:People from Gary, Indiana
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71:Santa Barbara, California
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714:"Create a Free Account"
452:Historic Resource Study
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256:He was transferred to
679:McIntyre, D. (1999).
604:. Alcatrazhistory.com
346:Springfield, Missouri
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626:. Legends of America
370:Escape from Alcatraz
213:McNeil Island Prison
624:"Alcatraz – Page 5"
446:Thompson, Erwin N.
247:Paragould, Arkansas
208:Tucker Prison Farms
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188:Imprisoned at
508:978-0-520-25607-1
335:James A. Johnston
313:. He was sent to
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78:Years active
16:American criminal
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744:American robbers
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164:Washington State
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67:(aged 84)
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52:Salina, Kansas
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307:nightwatchman
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696:. Retrieved
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379:Frank Morris
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292:penitentiary
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228:Rufe Persful
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65:(1991-05-16)
63:May 16, 1991
48:May 25, 1906
23:Rufe Persful
739:1991 deaths
734:1906 births
698:8 September
664:8 September
630:8 September
608:8 September
551:8 September
514:7 September
408:hebephrenic
387:John Anglin
728:Categories
682:Adjustment
583:23 October
433:References
361:Don Siegel
350:tourniquet
311:Riley Gunn
239:farm labor
154:California
118:kidnapping
44:1906-05-25
398:alligator
278:Biography
81:1924–1948
383:Clarence
342:Johnston
235:Arkansas
174:Missouri
159:Arkansas
146:State(s)
97:Captured
331:D-Block
179:Georgia
169:Indiana
137:Country
129:Victims
124:Details
114:robbery
689:
655:
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243:parole
110:Murder
367:film
700:2012
687:ISBN
666:2012
653:ISBN
632:2012
610:2012
585:2022
553:2012
540:ISBN
516:2012
503:ISBN
459:2012
414:via
385:and
60:Died
54:, US
38:Born
381:or
132:3–5
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
