Born in Washington D.C., Morris didn't have the easiest of lives. He spent most of his early years in foster homes. At age 13, he was convicted of his first crime. Further in is teen years he was arrested for narcotics possession and armed robbery. As he got older and into his adult years he began to move into even bigger penitentiaries. With an I.Q. of over 133, he always found a way to escape inferior prison systems.
Nobody was ever sentenced to Alcatraz. Prisoners were always transferred there from elsewhere. On January 20th 1960, Morris would now be known as prisoner #AZ1441 as he was transferred to The Rock. Of course, any person living there only wanted to get out. Moris was no different. It is said that as soon as he put his foot there that he was already planning to do the impossible, escape. Morris made friends with three men. John Anglin, his brother Clarence Anglin and Allen West. West would help out on planning the escape but would later chicken out on the night of the escape and stayed in his cell.
This escape would be the most complicated and most remembered of Alcatraz. Escaping The Rock would take Morris and the Anglins two years of preparation. They crated a raft, life like dummies and stole a number of tools that they would dig with. By 1962, they had dug through the vents of their cells. Since Morris and the Anglins weren't in the same cell, they took shifts. While some dug, the others were on the lookout for guards.
On the night of June 11, 1962 the attempt went ahead. The group escaped out of the vents in the back of their cells and into the utility corridor. They then proceeded onto the roof and down to the bay. There they boarded the raft they had been working on, and disappeared into the night.
The following morning the officers awoke to find the dummies lying in the beds and the prisoners missing. The FBI conducted one of the largest manhunts since the Lindbergh kidnapping to no avail. Bits of the raft and life preservers were later found in the bay. Also found was a waterproof bag containing personal effects of the Anglins. Although the authorities never found any bodies, they were certain the men had drowned. They pointed out that there were no robberies or car thefts that could have been attributed to them, as well as the fact that the men were habitual criminals and yet were never arrested again. Morris and the Anglins were presumed dead on January 11th 1962. The FBI were certain that they were dead. A while ago, A television show called Myth busters actually decided to try the same raft escape as Morris. Same raft, paddles and at night. They survived, raising questions on the deaths of Morris and the Anglins.
