BIRDMAN Robert Stroud handwrites from ALCATRAZ over 300 words about birds! w/COA

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LOW STARTING BID! NO RESERVE!INCLUDES CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY ROBERT STROUDBirdman of Alcatraz (1890-1963) In the early evening hours of January 18, 1909, Robert Stroud set off for the Juneau, Alaska, docks to get fish for his and his girlfriend Kitty's dinner. A mutual acquaintance of the couple, F.K. Von Dahmer, also known by his nickname Charlie, stayed behind with Kitty. In Robert's absence, Charlie took advantage of Kitty and viciously beat her. Eventually, Robert returned from the docks long after Charlie had departed. When he learned what had happened to Kitty, he was enraged. Robert went to Charlie's home with a gun and confronted Charlie. A struggle ensued that resulted in Charlie being shot dead. Following the shooting, Robert walked into the office of the Juneau City Marshal where he turned himself in. However, according to police reports, Stroud had knocked Von Dahmer unconscious, then shot him at point blank range. Stroud's mother retained a lawyer for her son. On August 23, 1909, Robert Stroud was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years at McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary in Seattle. Robert was disorderly and violent during his stay in prison. While at McNeil, he stabbed another inmate for accusing him of stealing food. On another occasion, he assaulted an orderly who reported him for trying to get drugs by way of threats and intimidation. His behavior resulted in his transference to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas on September 5, 1912. On March 26, 1916, during the noon meal in Leavenworth's dining hall, with over 1,000 inmates and numerous other guards present, Robert Stroud stabbed prison guard Andrew Turner to death with a homemade knife; Turner had reported him for breach of silence. On May 27, 1916, Stroud was sentenced to death by hanging, but his mother worked tirelessly to help her son. An appeal to President Woodrow Wilson finally led to the commutation of his sentence to life imprisonment, and he was never allowed parole. In June 1920, Robert Stroud came across a nest of baby sparrows in the exercise yard of Leavenworth. He took them to his cell and cared for them. He later bred and sold birds in prison, mostly canaries. In December 1942, R obert Stroud was transferred from Leavenworth to Alcatraz where he was no longer allowed to keep birds. In September 1955, Thomas E. Gaddis' bestselling biography "Birdman of Alcatraz: The Story of Robert Stroud" was published. In 1959, Stroud was moved to a criminal medical center in Springfield, Missouri, where he died on November 21, 1963. "Birdman of Alcatraz," starring Burt Lancaster in the title role, premiered on July 3, 1962. OFFERED IS A GENUINE ORIGINAL HANDWRITTEN LETTER. IT IS NOT A COPY OR A REPRINT. INCLUDES REPUTABLE CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY. Marcus Stroud has set up an organization whose goal is to have his brother Robert released from Alcatraz after serving 36 years in prison: from this letter : "I am hopeful that it will be able to do what we want. One advantage that we have never had before is the fact the man in the White House [Harry S. Truman] has been a life-long reade r of the Kansas City Star. He probably sign ed one of those 1931 petitions [to convince the warden at Leavenworth to let Stroud continue raising birds] ." OnApril 12, 1945, 2½ months before Robert Stroud wrote this letter, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died and Vice President Harry S. Truman became President of the United States. Truman w as from Independence, Missouri, just 10 miles east of Kansas City and was a reader of The Kansas City Star . In 1931, an attempt by the warden at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary to force Stroud to discontinue his canary business and get rid of his birds failed after Stroud made his story known to magazines and newspapers (including, of course, The Kansas City Star - Leavenworth was just 30 miles from Kansas City) and undertook a massive letter- and petition-writing campaign that climaxed in a 50,000-signature petition being sent to President H... read more

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