The birdman of alcatraz biography

He began a the birdman of alcatraz biography with an older prostitute named Kitty O'Brien, and in earlyafter O'Brien was beaten by a former lover, Stroud shot and killed the offender. Some sources say Stroud was her pimp, and killed the man over failure of payment. Sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter, Stroud was shipped to the federal penitentiary at McNeil Island, Washington, where he proved a difficult inmate.

He assaulted a hospital orderly on one occasion and stabbed a fellow inmate on another, earning an additional six months to his sentence. He displayed an interest in learning at his new facility, taking university extension courses in mechanical drawing, engineering, music, theology and mathematics. However, the violent tendencies did not subside: After his brother was turned away in an attempted visit inStroud stabbed a guard to death in the prison mess hall.

Stroud was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. However, President Woodrow Wilson in commuted the sentence to life imprisonment without parole, and Leavenworth's warden determined that Stroud would serve his sentence in solitary confinement. During a break in the prison yard inStroud came upon a fallen nest with baby sparrows.

He took the birds back to his cell, sparking his longtime fascination with ornithology. Stroud began reading every book he could acquire on the subject, and recorded his own observations on behavior and illness that the books failed to cover. When the hearing began, he failed to show up, prompting the judge to disqualify him and assign new lawyers to the defense.

More than that, Stroud discovered that his lawyer had already negotiated with the prosecution without his knowledge, agreeing to enter a guilty plea for second-degree murder. This was probably the best he could have hoped for, but Stroud still protested the plea because it was done without his approval. Given the new circumstances, the judge decided to delay the trial for a few months.

In Junethe court proceedings resumed. Stroud was able to the birdman of alcatraz biography all the new evidence and witnesses he wanted but, surprise, surprise, he was still found guilty of first-degree murder. Not only that, but this time he was sentenced to death again. However, in Novemberthe Supreme Court not only upheld the decision, but also disallowed any further hearings on the matter.

At this point, those previous offers were probably looking pretty good. After the third trial had concluded, there was just one person who still had not given up on Stroud — his mother. In order to save her son, Elizabeth had to find a way to appeal to a power greater than the Supreme Court. There was only one solution — Executive Clemency.

At the time, the President was Woodrow Wilson, but he was bedridden following a stroke and his wife, Edith, handled many of his duties. She met with Elizabeth Stroud in person and, eventually, stopped the execution eight days before it was scheduled to take place. The trials and appeals were over. Robert Stroud managed to escape the death penalty, but he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement.

That being the case, the warden did allow Stroud to continue his education and scientific interests. He had found what remained of a nest which got blown away during a storm. The nest was destroyed, but it still contained three live baby sparrows. Stroud decided to try and nurse them back to health and, thus, the Birdman of Alcatraz was born.

Anyway, Stroud brought the three sparrow chicks to his cell, improvised a nest and started feeding his new roommates. Some have described this event as Stroud finding a new lease on life as ornithology became his new passion. He read all the books on the subject that he could get his hands on. He learned how to properly care for birds and was allowed to keep canaries.

Fortunately for Stroud, the warden was initially pleased and even encouraged his new interest. At its height, Stroud packed in over three hundred canaries in his cell, keeping them in cages he made out of cigar boxes. His business lasted until when a new ruling said that federal prisoners were no longer able to conduct for-profit enterprises while incarcerated.

He simply focused more on the theoretical side. Being in prison, there were obviously still a lot of things that Stroud could not obtain, so he improvised. He studied pharmacology and medicine so he could make his own remedies and antiseptics. When a bird died, he dissected it using his fingernails. He began corresponding with thousands of other breeders and bird experts and even started writing articles that were good enough to be published in journals.

Soon enough, she started visiting Leavenworth to see Stroud and the two even launched a business together selling his bird medicine. It did well, but it lasted only a short while before he was forced to give it up in By this point, it was fair to say that the prison warden and the entire Federal Bureau of Prisons, for that matter, were growing tired of Stroud and his birds and would have liked to use this opportunity to get rid of them altogether.

However, the Birdman did not take this decision lying down. Jones obtained 50, signatures for a petition which she sent to the President of the United States. With the business side of his career gone, Stroud had nothing else to do but concentrate on the research. He compiled everything he learned about the death and disease of the birds he studied into a 60,word manuscript which he smuggled out of prison.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American inmate and ornithologist — For the film, see Birdman of Alcatraz film. For the scientist, see Robert M. This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.

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Della May Spore. Death, commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. Early life and arrest [ edit ]. Prison life [ edit ]. Leavenworth [ edit ]. Alcatraz [ edit ]. Death [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. ISBN Alacatraz — The Warden Johnston years. Retrieved May 30, Stroud The Birdman of Alcatraz". Washington, D.

OCLC Retrieved August 6, Congress Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the Government Printing Office. Time Inc. May 2, ISSN Despite being denied access to birds, he continued to pursue his ornithological studies. During his time at Alcatraz, Stroud became a prolific writer and legal strategist. He filed numerous appeals for a reduced sentence, but they were ultimately denied.

Robert Stroud died in after serving 54 years in prison. His life and obsession with birds have been immortalized in books, films, and popular culture. Known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz," his story serves as a haunting reminder of the complexities of redemption and the human spirit's ability to find solace in the most unexpected places.