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Secret Writings of the Birdman of Alcatraz: FOUND!



THE SECRET WRITINGS OF THE BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ:  FOUND!
by Michael Ravnitzky , mikerav@mindspring.com

Most people are unaware that Robert Stroud, the famous federal inmate known as
The Birdman of Alcatraz, was the author of two detailed books that were seized
and suppressed by the Bureau of Prisons during his life, saved from shredding
by his attorney 40 years ago, and have been unintentionally kept under wraps
by that attorney ever since.

As you may remember, Stroud was sentenced to death in 1919, later commuted to
life imprisonment due to lobbying from his mother.  Through the many decades
of his imprisonment, he became well known as an expert on bird diseases and
wrote a couple of well received books on that subject.  But he didn't just
write about birds - he wrote a history of the prison system, as well as his
autobiography.

One of the books is an unvarnished warts-and-all history of the United States
Prison System entitled:  Looking Outward:  A History of the U.S. Prison System
from Colonial Times to the Formation of the Bureau of Prisons.   The book is
about  2000 manuscript pages in length, about 1000 pages of typed pages.

The other book is entitled Bobbye, and is Stroud's autobiography, about 200
pages in length.

The Bureau of Prisons seized the manuscripts from Stroud in the late 1950s
because it found the material embarrassing.  The government said that the
materials were pornographic and glorified criminals, but modern readers might
find that the manuscript simply reflected the true lifestyles and occurances
of prison life at that time, sexual and otherwise.

The Bureau of Prisons promptly established rules preventing the dissemination
of writings by inmates after Stroud had requested permission to send the
manuscript to a publisher.  An attorney named Charles Dudley Martin, still
practicing in Missouri, was appointed as the administrator of Stroud's
interests, and to represent Stroud in court. The case went to trial in 1962.

Stroud died before the judge could reach a decision, and the court impounded
the manuscripts.  In 1965, Martin filed suit to claim the manuscripts on
behalf of Stroud's half brother Marcus Stroud and his sister Mamie.

Mr. Martin invested a lot of his time and resources on behalf of Stroud's
manuscripts.  Martin paid to have the manuscripts typed --- no small task ---
five copies of each book.  He sent a copy to Thomas Gattis, who wrote the
biography of Stroud (which was later made into the award winning film), but
the manuscript was returned upon the death of Mr. Gattis.  Dudley also sent a
copy to literary agent Bertha Klausner, who sent it back.  No other publishers
expressed any interest.

Currently, Mr. Martin holds the manuscripts.  He has been saying for the last
ten years that he planned to auction them off at Southeby's or Christies, but
apparently nothing has come of those plans.

Only one other individual has examined the manuscripts, a Stroud researcher
named John Fedinatz, 483 West End Avenue, Apartment 1007,  New York, NY
10024.  His telephone is 212-721-8009.  He indicates that they are quite
interesting, and present a unique historical perspective on the history of
penal institutions in the United States, as well as on the life of Robert
Stroud.

Mr. Martin, with the help of his son Ross, heads up a small law firm in
Springfield, Illinois called Martin & Associates, with offices at Post Office
Box 9625, Springfield, Missouri  65801-9625.  Tel: 417 - 831 - 9990, Fax: 417
- 831 - 9993.  Their website is martinlawoffice.com.

Here is one interesting but quite incomplete reference to this situation.
http://www.westword.com/issues/1997-07-10/feature3.html/print.html

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