Notorious Prisoners - Orphan and Prodigy #AtoZChallenge2021

A story I researched but didn't include in my “A World of Crime” blog series concerns the mystery surrounding a famous prison escape in 1962. (I did mention Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly who were both incarcerated there: see GANGSTERS and GOODFELLAS and ALPHONSE CAPONE ) Alcatraz seemed an appropriately unusual beginning to the AtoZChallenge2021.

ALCATRAZ

 

According to federal officials, the mastermind of the escape from “The Rock”, a maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island off the coast of San Francisco Bay, had an I.Q. ranging in the top 2% of the nation during the early 1900s. His plans for the escape were elaborate.

Theater billing for
Escape From Alcatraz

In the movie, Escape from Alcatraz, Clint Eastwood portrays the mastermind and makes a successful escape. This is one interpretation of events. Another is that the three prisoners who attempted the escape probably drowned in the riptides and undertows of the bay.
 

While the movie is entertaining, I find the history of the mastermind disturbing. An orphan before his teens, he lived in foster homes before a theft conviction. From there he moved up to robbery and narcotics, which led to jail, a penitentiary, and finally Alcatraz.

The intellect of this male was wasted as he slipped through the cracks of society’s awareness. As was the intelligence of Theodore Kaczynski, considered a prodigy in his youth but known by today’s society as the Unabomber. One man spent his teens in reform school. The other received a degree from Harvard and earned a PhD in mathematics. Both ended up in prison.

We know the Unabomber pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and received eight "life sentences". It isn’t so clear what became of Frank Lee Morris and the Anglin brothers, Clarence and John, who attempted an escape from an escape-proof federal prison. Were their remains strewn along the seabed after being swept under the Golden Gate Bridge?

Or, having been whisked away by a girlfriend after struggling to shore, were they transported alive to reside in Mexico - only to have Frank and one of the brothers die in obscurity, with the other brother attempting in 2018 to turn himself over to authorities in exchange for medical treatment for cancer?

Some mysteries never die. 

*****

FAST FIVE Author Interview with Kevin Dorvial

Today’s guest is author Kevin Dorvial. In 1999, he began his college education at the University of South Dakota where he also ran for the school’s track team. A year later, he attended Florida Atlantic University and graduated in 2005 with a major in political science and a minor in marketing. Kevin wanted to major in history so he could educate students about their cultures as a teacher, however he knew his prior criminal record would hinder him from getting hired, therefore he left it as an unpursued passion. 

Kevin Dorival is a mentor and a role model to young adults in need of guidance at the Knights of Pathagoras Mentoring Network in Delray, Florida. He is also the author of the book, The Courage To Believe. 

GAIL: Welcome, Kevin. Thank you for visiting today for this interview. What do you mean when you say, “You lost your innocence before you lost your virginity?” 

KEVIN DORVIAL: When I was about 14 years old my mom was brutally attacked by an ex-boyfriend that constantly stalked us. I was still a virgin but I felt as if I was a man from then on. It was time to protect my family by any means. In my book I go into greater detail of the drama that surrounded that dark night.

GAIL: Your biggest challenge was graduating from college. Why was it so difficult? 

KEVIN DORVIAL : I was in and out of jail due to the fact that I was on probation. Any infraction with the law or affiliation with those that are considered outlaws (law breakers) was an automatic violation of probation. I was literally, in jail during quizzes and tests. 

GAIL: What would you like for teens and young adults to get from your book, "The Courage To Believe?" 

KEVIN DORVIAL: You can alter your future. I want teens and adults to know that it doesn’t matter what it looks like or the mistakes that they’ve made in the past. The choice is yours. You can be in an institution of education or institution of prison. Which one would you prefer? I loved good food, family, and my loyal friends too much to be behind those walls. I thank God that I can take the time to write this book in order to be a testimony to those that are lost. 

GAIL: I hear you're big on history. Why didn’t you major in history?                            

KEVIN DORVIAL: You heard right, lol. I love history and it was my favorite subject throughout my schooling. It’s like wine to me, the older the subject the better but no, I didn’t major in history in the school system but I constantly read the ancient history of my ancestors from Africa to Haiti, and even here in America. My fascination of the past began with the adventures and mysteries of the Egyptians. The internal war between Cleopatra and her siblings over the power of the throne always seems to get me on the edge of my seat.

 

Learning at an early age that my ancestors were queens and kings made me proud. Teaching kids their history will make them proud of themselves. Most importantly, find their identity.

GAIL: You ended up in jail at the age of 22. What made you get involved in the street life?

KEVIN DORVIAL: I had minor run ins with the law as a juvenile. For the most part I walked a straight line. At the age of about 21, life was like a hurricane, lost focus for a moment and eventually moved out on my own. After constantly getting the short end of the stick in life I ended up needing a substantial amount of money at that time. My roommate moved out without a warning, and my job was barely enough to survive on. I started hanging around the wrong group of friends that broke laws for a living. They had an idea to make some quick cash. (Quick cash usually always means quick ticket to jail.) Being in a desperate situation, I went and….can’t tell you that part. Not yet. 

GAIL: Our teens have so many negative influences in their lives. What would you say is the solution to this epidemic? 

KEVIN DORVIAL: Teens are in a age of technology. They are born into it and the technology is constantly evolving rapidly. With the iPads, iPhones, Androids, Violent video games, lack of positive family morals leads to our children being raised by mega bytes and servers. Now, T.V. is filled with adult reality shows, profanity and nudity, all of which is distraction.

The only way is to turn away from the technology and do some soul searching in a quiet place. I am a spiritual warrior and believe in putting time aside, of my productive or like most of call it “busy life,” to pray. To meditate. To put things in perspective. Every day I am alive is a blessing. My biggest attribute was the fact that I was able to see myself as someone important - a king and not a pauper. The trick is to speak positive ideas and goals into your life by simply saying the words. If you want to be a millionaire, than say it everyday. If you want to purchase a yacht, then say it. You want to end world hunger, then say it each and every day.

Our teens need to find their identity. They must be able to see that they are royalty, someone of significance. Parents needs to play a bigger part in letting teaching their kids about their history. Let them know who they are or the media and video games will. 

GAIL: You love your country Haiti even though you’ve never been there. What would you do differently if you ran the country or if you were the president of Haiti? 

KEVIN DORVIAL: The education system would be the first thing that’ll address. Education would be free for every child. I will keep the only good christian soldiers that are not corrupted. The rest of the police, army, and politician will be forced out the country will be exiled. If there is evidence of their crimes then they’ll be arrested and brought to trial. I will hire hand picked experts from around the world in every industry that are committed to see our country prosper. 

Those billion dollars of gold, silver, copper, and natural minerals those foreign companies found in April of this year of 2012, in Haiti would remain there. The countries that found the treasure will get a few million as a finder’s fee. It will be very interesting to see how the current presidency will handle the new assets. 

GAIL: How were you able to overcome the traps of the ghetto that swallowed so many of your family and friends? 

KEVIN DORVIAL: It was the grace of God. I was able to think about my future on a regular basis; therefore attracted a better tomorrow. I’ve watched people get drowned by their present situation. My mother made sure that we, my four siblings and me, had our heads in the books daily, especially, the bible. Always felt like my life had purpose, an aura of royalty. My community’s tradition of falling under drama forced me to want more out of life for my own family. Moving forward, and not wanting to make excuses were two motivators. 

My youngest brother is currently serving a life sentence and a few of my friends are serving three to sixty years in prison. We are losing our men. Our fathers. Our stones of the family foundation. 

I made many mistakes but now everything I do has to be a touchdown or first down! No more fumbles in life. No more dropping the ball. 

This is a link to Kevin Dorvial’s press kit:

http://www.couragetobelievebook.com/media/media-kit/

 

PRISONS and PUBLIC ENEMIES #AWorldOfCrime

Wisconsin Reformatory

John Dillinger was named Public Enemy #1 by J. Edgar Hoover. Other public enemies on Hoover’s list were Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker, and Baby Face Nelson. Gunned down in fire fights, Bonnie, Clyde, and Dillinger never served prison time.

During the years that Alcatraz, the federal prison known as “The Rock”, was in operation, many gangsters got to see the inside, including Public Enemies Al Capone and members of Ma Barker’s gang.

John Walsh’s Public Enemies describes how America’s Most Wanted assisted in capturing an accused terrorist who resurfaced twenty-five years later as a ‘soccer mom.’

According to Alcatraz Rules and Regulations, prisoners were entitled to “food, clothing, shelter and medical attention.” I guess they paid for everything else, one way or another.

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison , Smith College alumna Piper Kerman’s book, tells of her incarceration at the “infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut” after she was caught delivering a suitcase of drug money.

Not only gangsters do prison time. Right now, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is learning that, along with the withholding of shoelaces, neckties and razor blades, the law also disallows hair dye.

Outlaws and Criminals

The self-evident meaning of OUTLAW is someone who acts outside the law. If one understands and lives within the confines of the law, all is well. The problem arises with sociopaths or people who live by a personal, conflicting interpretation of the law.

Acting outside of God’s law, Cain slew his brother Abel. One of the most infamous outlaws of America’s Old West, Jesse James, spent much of his life on the wrong side of the law. Were Jesse and Cain psycho/sociopaths who cared for no one else?

Cain may have fallen into that category. Jesse James loved his wife and children, however, or so the story goes. Did he interpret the law to his benefit, strongly believing that he had the right to take whatever he wanted, including lives, at the expense of others?

Baby Face Nelson’s life ended before his 26th birthday, his short life taken by the same violence he reveled in dishing out. Is J. Edgar Hoover’s portrayal of him as a killer without a conscience accurate? Or was killing an addiction for him?

Semantics aside, ‘Outlaw’ and ‘Criminal’ are not synonymous to those who applaud the charismatic antics of historical figures such as Robin Hood.