The US President Donald Trump is seeking $152 million from the 2027 budget to rebuild the infamous Alcatraz prison.
The BBC writes about this.
The budget request includes funding for "the conversion of Alcatraz into a modern, high-security prison", with the funds covering only the first year of costs. The request must be approved by the US Congress.
A number of politicians are skeptical of the plan, questioning the final cost of the project and the difficulty of operating Alcatraz as an operating prison. Critics of the plan point out that the island has no fresh water or sewage system, and all resources would have to be delivered by boat.
According to the US Federal Bureau of Prisons, at the time of its closure, Alcatraz was three times more expensive to maintain than any other federal prison.
Trump reported plans to reopen Alcatraz last year, saying he wanted to house “the most ruthless and brutal criminals”.
What is known about Alcatraz?
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Alcatraz (or "The Rock" as it is informally called) was originally a naval defense fortress, later a military prison, and in the 1930s, after being transferred to the Department of Justice, became a federal prison. Among the most famous inmates were gangsters Al Capone, Mickey Cohen, and George "Machine Gun" Kelly.
Alcatraz was considered "a prison for the worst of the worst". Criminals who could not cope with other prisons were sent there. During the entire time of operation of Alcatraz as a prison, there were 14 escape attempts, but most of them ended in failure.
The most famous is the 1962 escape of three prisoners who disappeared without a trace. They were never found, there is a version that they may have drowned.
This maximum-security facility was closed in 1963. It now operates as a tourist attraction, managed by the US National Park Service. According to the National Park Service, Alcatraz generates about $60 million in tourism revenue.
Alcatraz has also been the setting for many films, including The Birdman of Alcatraz with Burt Lancaster, Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood, and The Rock with Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.
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