Burton Phillips

Burton Phillips
Burton Phillips
	Mugshot of Phillips in 1935
Born	May 20, 1912 Topeka, Kansas
Died	July 28, 1999 (aged 87); Kansas, U.S.
Criminal charge	Bank robbery, kidnapping
Penalty	Life imprisonment; paroled January 12, 1952[1]

Burton Earnest "Whitey" Phillips (May 20, 1912 – July 28, 1999) was an American criminal, convicted of bank robbery and kidnapping. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.[2] He robbed $2,090 (equivalent to $38,663 in 2019) from the Chandler Bank of Lyons in Kansas in February 1935, before taking the cashier and his assistant hostage and driving away in a stolen car with an accomplice.[3]

He was initially sent to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary and had planned on overpowering the sheriff and obtaining his weapons before escaping and robbing the same bank again.[3] He was assessed as a dangerous criminal who would be more secure at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. He was sent to Alcatraz on October 26, 1935.[3]

Phillips was a malicious, angry character, and was noted by the Alcatraz staff upon arrival. In 1937, he savagely attacked the Warden of Alcatraz James A. Johnston in the Dining Hall from behind and beat him until he was restrained. Johnston was 63 at the time and Phillips around 24.[4][2][5] Phillips was said to have been angry at Johnston over a worker's strike.[5] His attack was described as a "queer mental quirk".[6] He died in Kansas in 1999.[7]

References

Ward, David A.; Kassebaum, Gene G. (19 May 2009). Alcatraz: The Gangster Years. University of California Press. p. 331. ISBN 978-0-520-25607-1. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
Luce, Henry Robinson (January 1938). Time. Time, Inc. p. 43. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
Ward, David A.; Kassebaum, Gene G. (19 May 2009). Alcatraz: The Gangster Years. University of California Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-520-25607-1. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
Allsop, Kenneth (1961). The Bootleggers: The Story of Chicago's Prohibition Era. Arlington House. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
Lewis Champion Jr, Jerry (27 January 2011). The Fading Voices of Alcatraz. AuthorHouse. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-4567-1487-1. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
Odier, Pierre (1 January 1982). The Rock: a history of Alcatraz : the fort/the prison. L'Image Odier. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-9611632-0-4. Retrieved 8 September 2012.

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[Kassebaum331-1] Ward, David A.; Kassebaum, Gene G. (19 May 2009). Alcatraz: The Gangster Years. University of California Press. p. 331. ISBN 978-0-520-25607-1. Retrieved 22 March 2020.

[Luce1938-2] Luce, Henry Robinson (January 1938). Time. Time, Inc. p. 43. Retrieved 8 September 2012.

[WardKassebaum2009-3] Ward, David A.; Kassebaum, Gene G. (19 May 2009). Alcatraz: The Gangster Years. University of California Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-520-25607-1. Retrieved 8 September 2012.

[Allsop1961-4] Allsop, Kenneth (1961). The Bootleggers: The Story of Chicago's Prohibition Era. Arlington House. Retrieved 8 September 2012.

[JrJr.2011-5] Lewis Champion Jr, Jerry (27 January 2011). The Fading Voices of Alcatraz. AuthorHouse. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-4567-1487-1. Retrieved 7 September 2012.

[Odier1982-6] Odier, Pierre (1 January 1982). The Rock: a history of Alcatraz : the fort/the prison. L'Image Odier. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-9611632-0-4. Retrieved 8 September 2012.