"It's September 5, 1921. McNeill Island Prison is reporting for you one of the largest searches in the history of the Pacific coast of the United States. According to reports, the prisoner who escaped this time was named Roy Gardner. After he ran out of the fence, the prison blocked all ships on the island as soon as possible. The warden of McNeill Island said that the fugitive was shot twice, and he had only two choices, bury himself at the bottom of the sea or submit. The following brings you the experience of jailbreak: "
There are overwhelming newspapers about this matter, and the warden tells the media once a day that the fugitive is still on the island.
A few days later, a newspaper published a column contributed by Gardner himself. The evidence showed that he not only escaped, but also lived well. He expressed his sincere greetings to the detectives on McNeill Island, "Catch me! Idiot!"
Before becoming an escape master, Gardner lived a peaceful life with his wife and children until in April 1920, he robbed $80,000 from a mail car.
The robbery went smoothly, just like he was a habitual offender, but within three days he was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Two bailiffs escorted him by train to the federal prison on McNeill Island. Although
was caught, he didn't seem to be upset. He smiled and made harsh words, "You can't keep me."
On the way, Gardner took advantage of the bailiff's unpreparedness and snatched his gun, snatched the two bailiffs together, and snatched their $200, heading north to Canada.
Because I couldn't help but miss my wife and daughter, Gardner returned to the beauty a few months later, and he also couldn't help but have his desire to commit crimes all the way to the black. He snatched the postal train and earned $187,000.
This time it is still 25 years, and it is still McNeil Island. The difference is that Gardner was handcuffed and escorted by two experienced quick gunmen. Of course, because he arranged for someone to put a pistol in the toilet in advance, the ending was no different - he "borrowed" $200 in travel expenses from two old bailiffs.
Gardner's double score annoyed the authorities, and he was characterized as "an extremely dangerous and vicious criminal who kills without blinking." The wanted orders were everywhere, and the eyes of the masses were sharp. Within a few days, Gardner was arrested again, and this time, he was finally successfully escorted to McNeil Island Prison.
However, according to the public, Gardner does not seem to be dangerous. He had never injured anyone, and the pistols were stuffed with fake bullets made of wood. What the police couldn't stand was that even when they were robbing, Gardner did not forget to show his signature polite smile.
Gardner became famous, and he became a "smiling robber" and an "escape master".
The reporters were unable to interview him, so they pointed the microphone at his wife Dolly. She and her daughter live in a rental house. The reporters learned that it was indeed not the first time Gardner had committed a crime, but in the seven years he had been with Dolly, he had never done anything illegal.
In 1920, the couple saved thousands of dollars to buy a house. Gardner proposed to take his wife and children on vacation and relive the following youthful passion. Unfortunately, he forgot that his passion does not belong to family life.
When Dolly was sleeping, Gardner lost all his savings from buying a house. On the way home, he heard that a mail car with $80,000 was about to leave the city.
Dolly told reporters that she actually didn't care about the house at all, she just wanted to continue a peaceful life with Gardner.
On McNeill Island, Gardner, on the surface, followed by day-to-day labor, secretly grabbed two prisoners, Boggart and Inpoen, and asked them to find an opportunity to escape together.
He told the two that the guards here were very poor, and I was an escape expert, so there was no need to be afraid.
This day is Labor Day in the United States, and most prisoners on the island come to participate in baseball games. In the fifth inning of the game, a beautiful home base hit, and everyone's eyes were closely following the route of the ball in the air.
Gardner said, that's now! The three ran in the opposite direction and cut off the wire from the fence. As long as they get out from here, they are free.However, the guards on the tower reacted much faster than Gardner thought. As soon as they threw out the fence, the guards opened fire, bullets whizzed past their heads, Inpun was shot dead directly, and Gardner was also hit on his right leg. But it was just a scratch. He shook it for a while and could continue running. Soon, Gardner was the only one left.
The boy who loves to laugh will not be too bad. When Gardner was desperate, the frightened cow on the side of the road helped him block some of the bullets. He took the opportunity to hide in the woods and throw away the chasing guards.
A few days later, Gardner plunged into the sea while no one noticed it. Generally speaking, people with injured legs will never swim to the peninsula a few kilometers away. Good luck comes again, and the direction of the tide is the direction of the destination.
Gardner disclosed the entire process of her jailbreak in the newspaper, and at the same time reported her safety to Dolly. After calming down, he thought about his future path seriously. The answer was, and he finally took a gamble. He asked President Warren Harding for a pardon to give himself a chance to return to his family.
Life is not about playing house, and the president ignored Gardner. Moreover, since the whole country now knows what he looks like, he can't find a serious job to make a living. Not long after, Gardner was arrested again for robbing the train, and his total sentence reached 75 years.
This time, he was sent to the highest level of Leavenworth Prison. In the next ten years, he tried digging tunnels and even holding guards hostage, but never succeeded again.
In 1934, a new federal prison was established in Alcatraz in San Francisco , which was very close to Gardner's home. He took the initiative to apply for transfer and wanted to try his luck. He told Dolly that he had a new jailbreak plan and filed a bail application. There are so many opportunities, there will always be success.
1938, because he never hurt anyone, and he performed well after arriving at Alcatraz Island, Gardner was paroled for in advance. The following year, Gardner published his autobiography, which tells the story of himself making friends with bigwigs such as Al Capone on Albert Island.
In the same year, a Hollywood movie based on his experience was released. Although the box office failed, it had a good reputation. AP praised him as "the last train robber", "Robin Hood of the 20th century", "He has no malice towards anyone, and a heart seeking forgiveness."
However, this is also a report on Gardner's death, who committed suicide at home.
In reality, it is not only the box office of the movie that is disappointing, but his desire for forgiveness has not received anyone's response. Just two years before bail, Dolly could no longer bear the promise of being postponed again and again and chose to divorce. Ironically, it is precisely for this reason that he gave up his long-planned jailbreak and his application for parole was approved.
After being released from prison, Gardner found that he had been in prison for 17 years and could no longer integrate into society alone. He finally understood that life is not a wilderness, but a track to different directions. If the direction of progress is placed on one gamble after another, the weight of life will gradually be lost, and in the end, there will be only the unbearable lightness of life.
