Editing Robert Stroud (section)

==Alcatraz==
[[File:Stroud in Warden notebook.jpeg|thumb|Stroud's [[mug shot]] taken in 1942 and information in the warden's notebook at Alcatraz]]
[[File:Warden%27s_notebook_page,_with_%22mug_shot,%22_of_Robert_Stroud,_594-AZ,_aka_%22The_Birdman_of_Alcatraz.%22_-_NARA_-_296722,_page_2.tif|thumb|1942 Warden's notebook continued]]

On December 16, 1942, Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and became inmate No. 594.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stroud|first=Robert|title=Looking Outward Part I: A Voice From the Grave|url=https://cdm17307.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/Stroud/id/501/|access-date=2022-06-26|via=cdm17307.contentdm.oclc.org|year=1943–1962|page=27|publisher=Comstock Editions |isbn=9780891740551}}</ref>{{sfn|Wellman|2008|p=57}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gaddis|first=Thomas|title=Birdman of Alcatraz: the Story of Robert Stroud|url=https://archive.org/details/birdmanofalcatra00thom/page/199/mode/1up?q=1941|access-date=2021-06-29|via=Archive.org|year=1989|page=199|publisher=Comstock Editions |isbn=9780891740551 }}</ref>{{sfn|Wellman|2008|p=57}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Babyak|first=Jolene|url=http://archive.org/details/birdmanmanyfaces00baby|title=Birdman|date=1994|publisher=Ariel Vamp Press|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-9618752-2-0|pages=152}}</ref> He reportedly was not informed in advance that he was to leave Leavenworth and his beloved birds, and was given just 10 minutes' notice of his departure. His birds and equipment were sent to his brother as Alcatraz's strict policies meant that he was unable to continue his avocation.{{sfn|Sifakis|2002|p=246}} He spent six years in segregation and another 11 confined to the hospital wing at the penitentiary.

In 1943, he was assessed by psychiatrist Romney M. Ritchey, who diagnosed him as a psychopath, with an I.Q. of 112 (his initial report in 1942 based on Leavenworth states that he had an I.Q. of 116). While there, he wrote two manuscripts: ''Bobbie'', an autobiography, and ''[[Looking Outward|Looking Outward: A History of the U.S. Prison System from Colonial Times to the Formation of the Bureau of Prisons]]''. A judge ruled that Stroud had the right to write and keep such manuscripts, but upheld the warden's decision to ban their publication. After Stroud's death, the transcripts were delivered to his lawyer, Richard English.

Rumors of Stroud's homosexuality were noted at Alcatraz. According to Donald Hurley, whose father was a guard at Alcatraz, "Whenever Stroud was around anyone, which was seldom, he was watched very closely, as prison officials were very aware of his overt homosexual tendencies."{{sfn|Hurley|1994|p=69}} In an interview with Hurley for his book, a former inmate heard Stroud was always in 'dog block' (solitary confinement) or later in the hospital because he was a 'wolf' (aggressive homosexual) who had a bad temper."{{sfn|Hurley|1994|p=126}}

In February 1963 Stroud met and talked with actor [[Burt Lancaster]], who portrayed him in ''The Birdman of Alcatraz''.<ref name="Lancaster" /> Stroud never got to see the film or read the book it was based on but did share one of the problems that prevented parole, that he was an "admitted homosexual."<ref name="Lancaster" /> Lancaster quoted Stroud as saying, "Let's face it, I am 73 years old. Does that answer your question about whether I would be a dangerous homosexual?"<ref name="Lancaster">{{cite news | url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Canseco-earns-MVP-honor-Nov-17-1988-4984217.php | title=Chronicle Archives Wayback Machine: Canseco earns MVP honor, Nov. 17, 1988, 1963 | work=San Francisco Chronicle| date=November 17, 2013 | access-date=November 20, 2013 | author=Miller, Johnny}}</ref>

During his 17-year term at Alcatraz, Stroud was allowed access to the prison library and began studying law. Occasionally, he was permitted to play chess with one of the guards.{{sfn|Sloate|2008|p=34}} Stroud began petitioning the government that his long prison term amounted to [[cruel and unusual punishment]]. In 1959, with his health failing, Stroud was transferred to the [[Medical Center for Federal Prisoners]] in [[Springfield, Missouri]],<ref name="Britannica"/> but he was never released.