Thompson was shipped to Harry M. William’s Mortuary in San Rafael, and when his brother Horace was unable to claim his body, he was buried in grave plot #235 at the Marin County Farm Cemetery on December 9, 1948.
Miran Thompson was buried in this peaceful unmarked graveyard, located in the foothills of Marin County. His grave is just a few feet from the tree seen in the foreground.
Miran Thompson’s death certificate.
Shockley’s remains were taken to Kenton’s Mortuary for embalming, and then shipped back to his sister Myrtle in Oklahoma. As an interesting endnote, Warden Duffy, who had overseen the execution of the two inmates, had long opposed the death penalty. But while he opposed the practice of execution, he did believe that the inmates executed were unquestionably guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted. He later wrote: “I have never presided over the execution of an innocent person, although several of the ninety whose deaths I ordered... claimed innocence right up to the last minute. The evidence against these people was so convincing that I seriously doubt miscarriages of justice.”
Following the trial of the inmates, Clarence Carnes was returned to Alcatraz, and he remained in segregation until 1952. Carnes was celled next to Robert Stroud, and he would develop a lasting relationship with the “Birdman of Alcatraz.” Stroud took fondly to his new pupil, and taught him to play chess. By the time Carnes had integrated back into the normal prison population, he had been the titleholder of the institution’s chess championships for over ten years. After years of imprisonment, Carnes became a model inmate, and began to thrive in the prison environment. He would remain at Alcatraz up until a few months before its closure in 1963, when he was transferred to the Federal Prison Medical Adjustment Center in Springfield Illinois to undergo gallbladder surgery. Following his recovery he would be transferred to Leavenworth, and then paroled on Christmas Eve of 1973. Carnes moved in with his sister in Kansas City, but he found life outside of prison confusing and difficult. After having spent the majority of his life incarcerated, he found freedom overwhelming, and he took to heavy drinking and habitual drug use. He eventually violated parole, and was sent back to Leavenworth for a short period.
In late 1978 Carnes’ life story was dramatized in a screenplay, which was later produced as a made-for-television movie entitled Alcatraz – The Whole Shocking Story. Carnes worked as a consultant on the production, and a fellow inmate reported that he was paid $20,000 for the story. Carnes lived a short interlude of luxury and fame, which in the end would lead him only to a harder fall. He spent a brief period back at Alcatraz after it was opened as a national park, meeting with the public and talking about his experiences. The movie aired on the NBC Television Network on November 5-6 in 1980, featuring some of Hollywood’s most accomplished actors, including Academy Award winner Art Carney in the role of Robert Stroud. But when the money from the film finally ran out, Carnes found himself homeless on the streets of Missouri. He suffered from ill health, and eventually found his way back to prison after purposely violating parole in order to get off the streets. He died in 1988 at the Springfield Facility at the age of sixty-one. His story would again be told in another made-for-television special, based on the book Six Against the Rockby Clark Howard. The feature presentation was aired on NBC-TV, on May 18, 1987.
Ed Miller retired less than a year after the incident, and moved back to Leavenworth, where he had begun his career with the Bureau of Prisons. He died in March of 1967 at age seventy-seven. Robert Baker finished out his career at Alcatraz and later retired to Napa, California, in the heart of the wine country; he died in March of 1978 at age sixty-seven. Robert Bristow took a custodian job for a school district in Sacramento, where he lived throughout his retirement. Ernest Lageson became a schoolteacher in nearby Pittsburg, California, and died tragically of cancer at the young age of forty-two. Lieutenant Joe Simpson died on January 31, 1960, and was buried at Fort Leavenworth.
Cecil D. Corwin recovered from his wounds, and returned to work in the prison system. He continued to have medical problems as a result of his injuries, including blindness in his left eye, and was declared permanently disabled in May of 1948. Cecil and his wife Catheryn moved to Stockton, California, where he undertook studies in psychiatry. He later moved to Pomona, California, and worked as a psychiatric technician for the remainder of his career. He retired to Long Beach, California, and suffered a fatal heart attack in July of 1967. Joe Burdett retired to Woodland, California, and died in October of 1983 at age eighty-seven. Carl W. Sundstrom retired to Alameda, California, directly across the Bay from Alcatraz, and died in March of 1973 at age sixty-seven. Irving Levinson retired to Lake Ellsinore in Southern California, and died in 2002. Officer Elmus Besk remained in San Francisco following his career at Alcatraz, and passed away at the age of sixty-one, before reaching his retirement, in March of 1972. Ed Stucker remained in the Bay Area and retired to Palo Alto, California; he died on March 11, 1990, at age eighty-six. Isaac Faulk also remained in the Bay Area following his departure from Alcatraz, and sought other employment opportunities. He retired to Novato, California, and died in December of 1986 at age eighty-seven.
Henry H. Weinhold was classified as permanently disabled due to his injuries, and lived out his retirement across the Bay from Alcatraz in Marin; he died in April of 1967 at age seventy-six. Bert A. Burch moved to Arizona and retired in Coconino; he died in November of 1974 at seventy-three. Emil Rychner remained in San Francisco following his long career on The Rock and passed away in January of 1980 at age eighty-six. San Quentin Warden Clinton Duffy retired and successfully authored two books about his life as the Warden of San Quentin. Duffy and his wife Gladys retired to Walnut Creek, California, where he died in October of 1982 at eighty-four. Cretzer’s brother-in-law Arnold Kyle was paroled in his senior years and died in November of 1980 in Lynnwood, Washington at age seventy-one.
After a lifetime of rebellion, James Quillen changed course and began the long journey to bettering himself and preparing for his transition back to free society. He began taking extension courses through the University of California, and earned a trade certification as an X-ray technician, while working in the Alcatraz Prison Hospital. Once released from prison, he lived a quiet life, later retiring as the Chief of X-ray at the Rideout Hospital in Marysville, California. He later authored a compelling memoir of life on the Rock entitled Alcatraz from the Insideand appeared frequently as a guest author on Alcatraz following its opening as a National Park. Jim died on October 6, 1998, following a short illness and was buried at the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery in Northern California.
Clifford Fish had one of the most prominent careers on Alcatraz, serving from August of 1938 until March of 1962. In total he worked for twenty-four years on the island, serving the majority of his time in the Control Center. Fish retired to Grass Valley, California, until his passing in November of 2002. He remained an extraordinary historian of 1946 events.
Phil Bergen led a remarkable career navigating his way up the promotional ladder of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and enjoyed a sixteen-year term of service at Alcatraz. Following the escape events of ’46, he received a promotion to Captain of the Guards. In 1955, he accepted the position of Associate Warden in La Tuna, Texas, and then was promoted to Correctional Inspector for the Bureau in Washington D.C. In this capacity, he would help to investigate the 1962 Morris-Anglin Escape at Alcatraz. Bergen remained as one of the great Alcatraz historians until his death on June 16, 2002. His legacy continues...
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