Alcatraz warden's notebook page for Albert L. Bates, No. 137
Bureau of Prisons notebook page with the identification photograph of Albert L. Bates, No. 137, received at Alcatraz from Leavenworth on 4 September 1934 under a life sentence for kidnapping and holding for ransom; a red header records his death in the prison hospital on 4 July 1948. A copy is stored here.
- Date
- 1934-09-04
- Kind
- photograph
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-12
- NAID
- 236734592
- Rights
- A Bureau of Prisons record, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. Series "Warden's Notebook Pages" (NAID 296686), Records of the Bureau of Prisons (Record Group 129), National Archives at San Francisco. The National Archives catalog marks the item "Use Restriction: Unrestricted." The series note says that some information on the pages is incorrect when compared with the fuller inmate files, and that clippings in the series may be copyrighted; this page is a prison form. The copy stored here is a downsample of the first digitized image.
The National Archives catalog titles this page “BATES, ALBERT LAWRENCE “GEORGE” - Alcatraz Number 137 - Warden’s Notebook.” It is a Bureau of Prisons notebook form with an identification photograph at the upper right; the placard in the photograph reads 137. It belongs to the series Warden’s Notebook Pages (NAID 296686).
The typed entries, as printed: name “Albert L. Bates,” No. 137, received 9-4-34 from Leavenworth, date of birth 10/16/93. Offense “Kidnaping & Holding for Ransom,” dated October 7, 1933; sentence “Life”; district sentenced “W/Okla., (Okla., City).” The red header reads “Died, 4:27 a.m. July 4, 1948 in Prison Hospital, heart trouble.” The page lists many detainers from other jurisdictions, which this archive does not transcribe. A staff note speculates about ransom money and is not repeated as fact. The “Reason for Transfer” box is staff opinion and is not repeated.
Catalog data, labelled as such: offense “KIDNAPPING & HOLDING FOR RANSOM (URSCHEL)”; received at Alcatraz 09/04/1934 from US Penitentiary, Leavenworth; transferred 07/04/1948 “to DEATH”; birth date 10/16/1893; death date 07/04/1948 at Alcatraz.
