Arthur ‘Doc’ Barker’s Fatal Attempt To Flee From Alcatraz
National Park ServiceArthur “Doc” Barker, a gang member sent to Alcatraz in 1936.
While escaping from Alcatraz seemed futile, it did not stop a handful of inmates who were willing to risk it all. Arthur “Doc” Barker, a gang member and convicted killer, was one of those inmates.
Barker began his life of crime at a young age. At 19 years old, he was arrested for stealing a car. Three years later, in 1921, Barker fatally shot a guard while attempting to rob a woman in Oklahoma.
He eventually got involved in the Barker-Karpis Gang with his brother Fred and friend Alvin Karpis. In 1934, the gang kidnapped a wealthy man named Edward Bremer in St. Paul, Minnesota. Barker was arrested in connection with the crime a year later, and he was sentenced to life in prison. He arrived at Alcatraz in 1936.
Three years into his sentence, Doc Barker attempted to escape alongside fellow inmates Dale Stamphill, Henri Young, Ty Martin, and Rufus McCain. On Jan. 13, 1939, they sawed through cell bars, climbed over high walls, and made it down to the beach without detection. However, the fog that had been concealing them cleared as they were trying to figure out what to do next.
Alcatraz guards spotted the men and opened fire. Barker was shot in the leg and then in the head. He initially survived and was taken to the prison hospital, but he died that same day.
