Former Alcatraz prisoner sees Trump’s plan skeptical

In 1963 the infamous high-security prison Alcatraz was closed. For decades, the facility has been a tourist attraction on an island off the coast of San Francisco. But Donald Trump wants to change that-at least the US President brought the idea into play to make Alcatraz a prison for serious criminals again.

Charlie Hopkins knows what it feels like to be locked up there. The 93-year-old was in custody in Alcatraz for three years and, according to the national archive, should be the last living prisoner. Hopkins sees Donald Trump’s plan critically: “It would be so expensive,” he told the BBC. “At that time, the sewage system ran directly into the ocean. You would have to find a different way to deal with it.”

According to Trump, the authorities have instructed to modernize, enlarge and reopen the former prison complex. Alcatraz should become a “symbol of law, order and justice”. The place represents “something very strong, very powerful in terms of law and order”.

Experts consider the project to be implemented. The costs to adapt the prison of modern standards are clearly too high. There is currently no water, no sewage system and only partially electricity. “When it comes to conversion the prison building for the accommodation of people, I don’t think so is feasible. It would have to be torn down and rebuilt,” said historian John Martini to “San Francisco Chronicle”.

Charlie Hopkins describes himself as a Trump supporter, but also does not believe in his announcements. “He doesn’t want to open this place again”; said the former BBC inmate. The President wants to “set an example to the public” against illegal immigration and crimes.

In Alcatraz, well -known criminals like Al Capone sat off their prison terms. Charlie Hopkins was sentenced to 17 years in prison for multiple robes and kidnapping and came to Alcatraz in 1955 because he had caused unrest in another prison. “There was nothing to do there,” he recalls his time in the prison. “You could go back and forth in your cell and do pushups.” In 1958, five years before the closure, he was released.