Sam Shockley

Who was Sam Shockley?

Richard Samuel "Sam" Shockley Jr. was an inmate at Alcatraz prison who participated in the Battle of Alcatraz in 1946.

Shockley was the son of Richard "Dick" Shockley and Anna Bearden. He was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas. Shockley was arrested for bank robbery and kidnapping in Oklahoma and sentenced to life imprisonment in May 1938. Examined by prison psychiatrists, Shockley was found to have an unstable character, he was found to have a low IQ of 54, and was prone to violent rages. He was transferred to Alcatraz from Leavenworth as it was felt the strict routine there would better manage him but even here was felt to be uncontrollable and spent much of his time in the prison's isolation unit, D-wing. In May 1941 he attempted escape from one of the island's workshops along with Joe Cretzer, Arnold Kyle and Lloyd Barkdoll. During the escape attempt the men held a number of guards hostage, but gave up when they failed to cut through the tool-proof bars.

On May 2, 1946, after inmates Bernard Coy, Joseph Cretzer, and Marvin Hubbard took guard Cecil Corwin by surprise, they asked Shockley which cell Rufus Franklin was in.