Al Capone: The Legacy Of Al Capone

Superior Essays
When the name, “Al Capone” gets thrown into the conversation, words like “corrupt” or even “murderer” often follow. It is hard to imagine a man who had so much controversy surrounding him to be named “Public Enemy #1” would have a benevolent soul. Al Capone had a family. Not only that, but a tight-knit Italian family. He was a loving son, husband, and father. It is necessary to note, though, that many of the perceived ideas about him are true, but often exaggerated. Al, himself, touched upon this often. At a press conference in the 1920s, he was being questioned about certain shady activities attached with his name. After a while, Al became a bit fed up with all of the accusations of violent crime placed around him, saying, “...I don’t pose as plaster saint, but I never killed anyone. I never stuck up another man in my life….” Al did have shortcomings, and he recognized this. In fact, his legacy as the “Boss of Chicago” stuck …show more content…
His mother, Theresa Capone, definitely viewed Al through rosy lenses, but all mothers do. This adoration certainly attributed to more of the tender moments Al had in the public eye. At his time in Alcatraz in particular, Theresa Capone wrote a letter to a man on the Alcatraz prison board, Mr. Batis, begging him to transfer Al into another prison or ward. Around the time she wrote the letter, she had been given word that her son had been treated quite poorly by other inmates on more than one occasion. She had a great amount of anxiety surrounding this stating in her letter, "I certainly feel that he is not safe in such a place as Alcatraz.... This is not the first attempt on his life there, how do you think he feels..." The amount of controversy surrounding the Capone family in Chicago was already massive, so hearing that her beloved son was being harmed for committing tax evasion, a crime that today would simply place one in federal

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The attempted murder of Marc Schiller was very intense and very brutal. Lugo and his gang attempted eight times to capture Marc Schiller and every time they failed to kill him. " Mark Schiller was the perfect victim because he was involved in medical fraud, something that was illegal," said Levine (Troy Roberts). Schiller had been Tased, burned, beaten, pistol-whipped. When the gang was done with him, they made him wash down sleeping pills with liquor, put him behind the wheel and rammed it into a pole to make it look like a drunk driving accident.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Wallaces kill a black man and they are not punished. The blacks in the community want justice so they are refusing to shop at their store. Mr. Jamison says to Papa: “’But even more important than all that, you're pointing a finger right at the Wallaces with this boycott business. You're not only accusing them of murder, which in this case would be only a minor consideration because the man killed was black, but you're saying they should be punished for it. That they should be punished just as if they had killed a white man, and punishment for a white man for a wrong done to a black man would denote equality.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Yes, the situations as described in the book, Inside Life Behind Bars in America are supportive of Santo’s plea to “humanize prisoners”. For instance, as detailed by Santos on page 15, he recalls his account with an individual by the name of Ronald. In particular, Santos describes Ronald’s perspective on the prison system, and how “Ronald says that he did not proceed into the jail with any notion of changing his behavior for the better … Ronald knew that his initial prison term would enhance his status, that it would show he could take the punishment and survive a stint in even the toughest of situations” (Santos 15). From this, Santos presents how Ronald had made no decision to correct his behavior or to turn away from a life of violence…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    On the 8th of November I visited Oxford crown court; whilst I had previously attended various levels of courts to witness trials, I had never watched a sentencing. Therefore, intrigued to see the process, I decided to watch the sentencing of Tom Mobey. Immediately upon entering the courtroom I noticed a very different atmosphere to trial, one that was much more private and personal. There was a limited number of people in court: just the two opposing counsel, a clerk, the defendant and his accompanying custody officer. In addition, the defendant was not retained in the dock behind glass, but rather sat in front of it.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With recent talks on Capitol Hill of an upcoming criminal justice reform, it is not surprising to see topics on sentencing structure, police ethics and practices, and the future of the criminal justice system in the news headlines. One of the biggest topics is the overwhelming prison population in state and federal prisons. This has been a prominent topic for some time now. While some want to curtail the prison community others seem to think there is not a visible complication. Those who sense the prison population or the amount of people under supervision of the criminal justice system is of no concern, more than likely do not understand the impact the population has on criminal justice professionals or where the funding for these institutions…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brief History Of Alcatraz

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Alcatraz was a home for the worst people that crime ever knew; that is why it is important to explore the history of Alcatraz, escaped inmates, and the daily routine for these horrendous people known to crime. Alcatraz is located in San Francisco, California on an island. The island where Alcatraz was once housed is equivalent to 1.25 miles long. The island was discovered by a famous Spanish naval officer named Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, who was the first European who entered the San Francisco Bay. How Alcatraz got its name was from a Spanish derivative from “Alcatraces”.…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “A Few Good Men” as Related to Concepts Learned The film “A Few Good Men” (acquired for the Eiche Library) revolves around the criminal law branch of the court-martial of two U.S. Marines charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and conduct unbecoming a Marine. The storyline shares the trials and tribulations experienced by their lawyers assigned to defend them as they prepare for the case. The film illustrates the various phases of criminal procedure from arraignment, plea bargaining, to the trial itself and depicts the usual cast of courtroom individuals: defendants, Lance Corporal Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and Private First Class Louden Downey (James Marshall); defense council, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise),…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Al Capone's Speakeasies

    • 153 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Al Capone was known because of Prohibition in the 1920s. He is important…

    • 153 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When the majority of people picture a villain, they might describe one as “a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime” (“Villain”, dictionary.com). Our world today is filled with more villainous acts than we can count, whether it be as small as a lie or as grand as several murders. Charles Manson was an American villain who was guilty of an abundance of malicious acts - some that sound too obscene to even be true. A cult leader with around a hundred followers, Manson and his family are “thought to have carried out some 35 killings” (“Charles Manson”, A&E Networks Television). Manson’s difficult childhood led him to create a unique character out of himself, where he developed some interesting theories and…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Alcatraz Prison

    • 1750 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Johnston died at the Battle of Shiloh (National). Alcatraz soon took charge of well known depression era desperadoes as Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and “Scarface” Al Capone (Boisson). Capone arrived on the Rock in 1939 from Leavenworth, were he was serving time for tax evasion (Boisson). Capone tailed in the laundry room as prisoner AZ eighty-five, but his bigshot swagger ruled the more common streets (Boisson).…

    • 1750 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    It showcases Booth's life of petty crime, like shoplifting, horse-theft, mugging, and burglary. He finally has his comeuppance when he breaks into the home of one Mr. Lincoln and beats him quite badly. However, a passing policeman heard the ruckus, entered the house and arrested Booth. He was later fined $15, a lot of money in those…

    • 58 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Escape From Alcatraz On June 11, 1962 Frank Morris and the Anglin Brothers escaped Alcatraz prison. 36 prisoners tried to perform this hard task years before but were never able to make it. Their escape was very dangerous due to the high currents and shark filled waters, somehow they managed to not become shark bait. Despite the fact that Frank Morris and the anglin brothers were never seen escape, Frank Morris and the brothers did escape alive, because frank Morris and the brothers were even and heard from, they made their boat and landed on horseshoe bay. A car was also stolen by who we think was the 3 men.…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Escape From Alcatraz

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Alcatraz the most impossible prison to break out of or was thought to be until the night of June 11 1962 at exactly 9:30. Alcatraz is known to be the toughest and most feared prison in America. Alcatraz is said to be impossible to escape from and the men who tried to escape didn’t survive the escape. Men who have tried to escape before drowned in the frigid cold waters of the San. Francisco Bay.…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Crime and Punishment in America through the Years Crime and punishment in the United States of America has changed through the years’ time and time again. Presidents through time, as well as the American population, have been the cause for all the “see-sawing” between crime and punishment. Most of the recent back and forth comes from the human interpretation of what a “cruel and unusual punishment” is, and from the questions of justification for the state taking a life. These questions date back to 1767 when Cesare Beccaria’s published “Crime and Punishment,” an essay which helped abolitionists show their voice and views on capital punishment.…

    • 1745 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The escape from Alcatraz is on the top ten list of most mysterious prison breaks (Listverse). Early June 1962, three men attempted to escape from the prison island, Alcatraz. Many believe that the three men named Clarence and John Anglin brothers and Frank Lee Morris survived the swim to shore and escaped to live on their lives. Others believe that the men drowned on their attempt to swim/paddle the 3.6 miles. Although the trio had built a raft and paddles to cross the 3.6 miles, reliable sources reveal that they had died trying to paddle their way to shore in the hectic waters.…

    • 103 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays