Bernard Paul "Barney" Coy
Alcatraz register no. 415. The warden's notebook page records receipt from Atlanta on 31 July 1937 under a sentence for conspiracy and bank robbery, and a typed header recording the 2 to 4 May 1946 prison break and that his body was found on 4 May.
- Born
- 1900-02-13
- Died
- 1946-05-04
- Aliases
- Barney
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state. The identification photograph is a Bureau of Prisons record, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.
On the record
- 1937-07-31 — The warden's notebook page (NAID 236735451) records him received at Alcatraz from "ATLANTA," age 37, date of birth 2/13/00, offense "CONSPIRACY, BANK ROBBERY, VIO.OF NMVA. FLIGHT FROM STATE TO AVOID PROS.," date of sentence June 3, 1937, district "W/Ky., Louisville."
- 1946-05-04 — A header typed on the page after the events reads "BODY FOUND, DEAD BY GUNSHOT WOUNDS, MAY 4, 1946 IN UTILITY CORRIDOR OF C-BLOCK, ABOUT 9:45 a.m." The catalog gives a transfer on 05/04/1946 "to DEATH" and the remark "KILLED DURING ESCAPE ATTEMPT."
- 1946-05-04 — The Bureau of Prisons names Bernard Coy among the six prisoners in the "Battle of Alcatraz" of May 2-4, 1946 and says the escape attempt ended with the discovery of the bodies of Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard.
The page’s header calls him a “leader” in the break; that is staff wording typed after the event, not a finding. The catalog gives a birth date of 02/13/1900 and a death date of 05/04/1946 at Alcatraz. The role and family fields are left empty because no record cited here states either. Offenses are given as the notebook form prints them; the “Reason for Transfer” boxes are staff opinion and are not used.
Records
itemAlcatraz warden's notebook page for Bernard Paul Coy, No. 415Bureau of Prisons notebook page with the identification photograph of Bernard Paul Coy, No. 415, received at Alcatraz from Atlanta on 31 July 1937 under a sentence for conspiracy, bank robbery and related counts (Western District of Kentucky); a typed header records the 2 to 4 May 1946 prison break and that his body was found on 4 May. A copy is stored here.itemAlcatraz (Federal Bureau of Prisons history page)The Bureau of Prisons' history page on Alcatraz names Al Capone among the well-known criminals who did time there, and says most of its prisoners were not well-known gangsters.