Letters to the Editor: President Trump wants to reopen Alcatraz. Our readers have other ideas

To the editor: My first reaction to President Trump’s suggestion that Alcatraz be reopened (at great cost) was “no way” (“Trump orders Alcatraz prison to reopen for ‘most ruthless and violent’ criminals,” May 4). But, after rethinking it, I could support its reopening if it were to add a suite to house felon presidents.

David L. Burdick, Ridgecrest

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To the editor: I can see Trump tooling around the Mar-a-Alcatraz fairways in his little golf cart now. Redecorating the suites would keep him occupied for years, and it’d keep him out of our hair. I’m all for it, as long as he’s not allowed to leave.

Elle Kranen, Carlsbad

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To the editor: Trump’s order to reopen Alcatraz is a joke! He likes to talk tough on criminals but pardoned the Jan. 6 rioters who attacked Congress and injured Capitol Police officers.

Anyone who has visited Alcatraz as a tourist can tell him it would take hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild it. The U.S. already has operating prisons that are available to house criminals. Use them!

Carol Karas, Camarillo

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To the editor: A quick visit to Alcatraz (or a cursory Google search) would show it was closed because it was so much more expensive than regular or even supermax prisons. As if we needed more evidence from this administration that the cruelty is the point: It is deemed “efficient” to cut services and employees who serve the American people, but the money spigot is open to imprison them at home or abroad in the worst conditions possible.

Michael Smallberg, Menlo Park, Calif.

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To the editor: With all the polarization going on now, a reopening of Alcatraz might offer an opportunity for a refreshing compromise. Would it be possible to house dangerous criminals in Alcatraz and continue it as a tourist attraction? I am sure a lot of people would like to see real “vicious, violent” criminals at a safe distance, maybe from behind Plexiglass screens like a zoo. But not a petting zoo, of course.

Michael Donnelly, Covina

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To the editor: Speaking as someone in the construction business, I can tell you that the only way to make any kind of a practical use of the island is to scrape it completely and rebuild from scratch. Even then, you would wind up with the most expensive and hard-to-maintain prison in the world.

Peter Scofield, Corona del Mar

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To the editor: Alcatraz is an eyesore and a symbol of man’s inhumanity to man. The structures should be razed and the island returned to its natural state.

Joseph Gius, Los Angeles