Is Trump's plan to reopen notorious Alcatraz prison realistic?

US President Donald Trump has doubled down connected his connection to reopen and grow Alcatraz, the once-notorious situation land successful the icy waters of San Francisco Bay.

Alcatraz- popularly known arsenic "the Rock" - has been closed for decades, and is present a historical landmark visited by millions of tourists each year.

The US President says helium believes the situation could beryllium erstwhile against utilized to location unsafe inmates, and service arsenic a awesome of instrumentality and bid successful the US.

But experts accidental that refurbishing the dilapidated remains of the once-formidable situation is "not realistic astatine all".

Here's what we cognize astir the plan.

Located connected an land astir 1.25 miles (2km) offshore from San Francisco, Alcatraz was primitively built arsenic a naval defence fort, but was rebuilt successful the aboriginal 20th period arsenic a subject prison.

In 1934, it was formally converted into a national situation - Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary - lodging notorious inmates including gangster Al Capone, Mickey Cohen and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, among others.

The situation was among 1 of the astir notorious successful the US astatine the time, and was considered inescapable due to the fact that of the beardown currents and frigid temperatures of San Francisco Bay.

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The installation was besides made celebrated by the 1979 film, the American biographical situation drama, Escape from Alcatraz, which recounted a 1962 captive flight with Clint Eastwood starring arsenic ringleader Frank Morris.

It was besides the tract of the 1996 movie The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage, astir a erstwhile SAS skipper and FBI chemist who rescue hostages from Alcatraz Island.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, BOP, it was astir 3 times much costly to run than different national institutions and was yet closed by Attorney General Robert Kennedy successful 1963.

The land and situation are present a depository operated by the National Park Service. More than 1.4m radical sojourn each year.

"Alcatraz is simply a spot wherever the past meets the present," Christine Lehnertz, president and CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy said successful a connection sent to the BBC.

"It challenges america to listen, to learn, and to transportation guardant the stories that inactive signifier our satellite today," she added.

Donald Trump is not the archetypal president to mull re-opening the installation arsenic a detention centre.

In 1981, Alcatraz was 1 of 14 sites considered by the Reagan medication to clasp up to 20,000 refugees who had fled from Cuba to Florida successful the celebrated "Mariel Boatlift".

The tract was yet rejected owed to a implicit deficiency of capable facilities and its worth arsenic a humanities tourer site.

In a Truth Social station connected 4 May, Trump archetypal said helium had directed his authorities to re-open and grow the land prison, saying that "for excessively agelong America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repetition transgression offenders".

Speaking to reporters astatine the White House the pursuing day, Trump said that, successful his view, Alcatraz "represents thing precise strong, precise powerful" - instrumentality and order.

"We request instrumentality and bid successful this country," helium said. "So we're going to look astatine it. Some of the radical up present are going to beryllium moving precise hard connected that."

While helium said helium finds the thought "interesting", Trump besides acknowledged that the situation is presently a "big hulk" that is "rusting and rotting".

"It benignant of represents thing that is some horrible and beauteous and beardown and miserable," helium said.

Trump's borderline czar, Tom Homan, besides told reporters that Alcatraz could beryllium "an option" for "significant nationalist information threats and nationalist information threats".

"It should beryllium connected the table," helium added.

Soon aft Trump's comments made quality astir the world, justness section spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said successful a connection that BOP "is moving towards rebuilding and opening Alcatraz to service arsenic a awesome of instrumentality and order".

But situation experts and historians person expressed superior doubts whether the program is feasible.

"To beryllium frank, astatine archetypal I thought it was a joke," Hugh Hurwitz, who served arsenic acting manager of the BOP betwixt May 2018 and August 2019, told the BBC. "It's not realistic to deliberation you tin repair it. You'd person to teardrop it up and commencement over."

Mr Hurwitz pointed to a fig of issues with the facility, including buildings that are "literally falling apart", cells successful which "a six-foot idiosyncratic can't basal up".

"There's nary information upgrades. No cameras. No fencing," helium added. "You can't tally a prison."

"I person 2 words: h2o and sewage," said Jolene Babyak, an writer and Alcatraz historiographer who lived determination for 2 stints arsenic a kid with her father, a situation administrator.

"In its heyday, each the sewage for 500 oregon much radical was conscionable dumped successful the bay," she said. "Nowadays it has to beryllium boated off. It's conscionable not realistic astatine all. But it captures everyone's imagination."

When the installation closed successful 1963, the BOP said it was astir 3 times much costly to run Alcatraz than immoderate different national situation - the per-capita outgo being $10 and $13, compared to betwixt $3 and $5 for different facilities. This was successful portion due to the fact that it required nutrient and supplies to beryllium dropped disconnected by boat.

In today's national prisons, the per capita outgo for inmates is betwixt $120 and $164 - meaning that the costs could emergence to implicit $500 per idiosyncratic successful a installation similar Alcatraz, which could lone clasp astir 340 prisoners astatine its peak.

"It was caput bogglingly costly to support a convict there," said John Martini, a historiographer who spent respective years connected Alcatraz arsenic a ranger with the National Park Service. "Things person not changed. But the spot has gone downhill."

"It's fundamentally a shell. Even the factual has large problems. The Park Service has enactment millions into structurally stabilising it," helium added. "They would request water, electricity, heat, and sanitation. None of those functions."

"This [Trump's comments] are conscionable different twist successful the unusual past of Alcatraz," Mr Martini added.