Joseph Bowers attempt to climb the fence to feed a seagull. However, regardless of Bowers' initial motive, it is indisputable that Bowers ignored the guards' forceful signals to halt and he kept climbing even after the guards began firing, such that he fell on the outside of the fence. Joseph Bowers Joseph "Dutch" Bowers (December 13, 1896 – April 27, 1936) was the first man to attempt an escape from Alcatraz prison. On 27 April 1936, convict Henry Larry claims to have watched Bowers, who was feeding seagulls, stack some empty barrels and climb up next to the fence so he could
Minnesota Territorial Prison were adopted in 1860, and the reduction of sentences for good conduct time in 1862. An inmate-published newspaper, "The Prison Mirror", launched in 1887. Relocated to the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater, "The Prison Mirror" is the oldest prison newspaper continuously printed in the United States. In 1890, in an attempt to reduce political favoritism in the contract labor system, the prison began its own manufacturing program. Twine was the initial product. The following years saw Minnesota's first appointment of professional penologists as wardens. This led to reforms such as a convict grading system and a school for prison education.