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L
James C.
"Tex" Lucas (1912-1963) - A bank robber and car thief, he
attempted to escape from
Alcatraz.
Lucas was originally sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment for bank
robbery and interstate trafficking of stolen vehicles, he arrived at
Alcatraz in
January 1935 from the Texas State Prison. In
Alcatraz he
was called "Texas Bank Robber" Lucas. He is best known for attacking Al
Capone in the prison's laundry room on June 23, 1936. While Capone was
working in the laundry area about ten feet away from Lucas, the former
bank robber stabbed Capone in the back with a pair of shears from the
prison barber shop. Capone defended himself by punching Lucas in the jaw
before prison guards broke up the pair. Capone was able to walk to the
prison hospital and the following day, he resumed his regular duties at
Alcatraz
Prison. Meanwhile, Lucas was sent to solitary confinement.
In the spring of 1938, Lucas, along with Whitney
Franklin, another former bank robber, and thomas Limmerick, a kidnapper,
planned their escape from
Alcatraz. On
May 23, 1938, they enacted their plan, beating a custodial worker named
Royal Cline over the head with a hammer and rendering him unconscious.
They then made their way to the roof, where an armed guard shot both of
Lucas's accomplices. Within no time, more guards and Lucas was cornered.
Cline, the custodial worker died of his injuries the next day. Limmerick,
who had been shot in the head also died. Rufus Franklin recovered from a
gunshot in the shoulder and both he and Lucas were tried for murder of
Cline and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Continued
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