Saved at Alcatraz

Saturday, May 23 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of a crime spree that left several dead and, amazingly, one accomplice heading for Heaven via jail time at Alcatraz.

Floyd Hamilton is one of 36 men who attempted to escape from Alcatraz, the famed prison known as "The Rock". He and three other prisoners attempted the feat in 1943 by jumping out of a window into the water 50 feet below. One died in a hail of bullets, and two were quickly captured. Hamilton hid in a shoreline cave for three days before climbing up the cliff and back into the window. He hid briefly and was then taken back into custody.

Floyd’s story began with infamous Bonnie and Clyde, the outlaw couple whose crime spree killed seven police officers and ended in a hail of police bullets on a lonely road near Gibsland, Louisiana on May 23, 1934. The May issue of Smithsonian magazine has a commemorative article on Bonnie and Clyde. Our local paper noted that there is still a Bonnie and Clyde museum in Gibsland, Louisiana.

Floyd had helped the criminals, and he and his brother, Raymond, who was part of the couples’ gang, escaped the police ambush. Both were later captured. Once called Public Enemy #1 because of his own crimes, Floyd ended up in Alcatraz in a cell next to "The Birdman of Alcatraz." He was alone in a cell for a year wearing only undershorts, and he often heard prisoners going crazy in the night.

But Floyd’s Christian mother and preacher sister wrote him letters explaining the Gospel. Famous Texas preacher W.A. Criswell visited Floyd at Alcatraz and led him to a saving knowledge of Christ. His life changed so dramatically that he was miraculously favored by the prison management. He was finally released from prison after transfer to Leavenworth.

While imprisoned, his two children died as did his sister, who herself left two small children. After his release, Floyd remarried his wife who had previously divorced him, and they took his sister’s children to raise. He became a minister to prisoners and former prisoners. In a letter he wrote to a an ex-con in 1980, Floyd referred to his association with Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship. He also noted that he had become vice president of International Prison Ministry and that he would serve free of charge. Hamilton went to be with the Lord in 1983.

As I searched our radio broadcast archives for a special 45th anniversary collection, I discovered a long-forgotten interview I did with Floyd Hamilton. I am honored to have personally interviewed him in 1975, just eight years before his Homegoing, and doubly honored to share his testimony on "The Word And The World" the weekend of May 23, 2009. (Click here for a list of stations that air our broadcast. You can also hear the Floyd Hamilton interview at our website or at Oneplace.com as of Monday, May 25.)

Floyd Hamilton’s story is reflected in the words of a great old Gospel song, "He Ransomed Me," by Julia Johnson:

There’s a sweet and blessed story
Of the Christ who came from glory,
Just to rescue me from sin and misery;
He in loving-kindness sought me,
And from sin and shame hath brought me,
Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me.

From the depth of sin and sadness
To the heights of joy and gladness
Jesus lifted me, in mercy full and free;
With His precious blood He bought me,
When I knew Him not, He sought me,
And in love divine He ransomed me.

From the throne of heav’nly glory—
Oh, the sweet and blessed story!—
Jesus came to lift the lost in sin and woe
Into liberty all-glorious,
Trophies of His grace victorious,
Evermore rejoicing here below.

By and by, with joy increasing,
And with gratitude unceasing,
Lifted up with Christ forevermore to be,
I will join the hosts there singing,
In the anthem ever ringing,
To the King of Love who ransomed me.

Refrain: Hallelujah! what a Savior,
Who can take a poor, lost sinner,
Lift him from the miry clay and set me free!
I will ever tell the story,
Shouting glory, glory, glory,
Hallelujah! Jesus lifted me.

Dave Virkler