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
Joseph Giarratano at the federal appeals court level, but in "Murray v. Giarratano", the United States Supreme Court ruled that there is no Constitutional right to appointed counsel in state habeas proceedings, and that the rule applies equally to capital cases. Giarratano was involved in a 1984 escape attempt with seven other men from the Mecklenburg prison. Prison officials had an internal hearing and dealt with the men on an institutional basis. Giarratano was an advocate for fellow death row inmate Earl Washington Jr., and gained support for a "pro bono" defense of him, less than a month before his execution scheduled