The prison was designed to hold up to 336 prisoners. However the average population was only about 270. Although there were several notorious inmates, such as Al Capone, most of the inmates were not well-known. Many had tried to escape from other prisons or were considered violent. If a man did not behave at another prison, he could be sent to Alcatraz. At Alcatraz there was just one inmate in each prison cell.
这座监狱计划最多可关押336名囚犯，然而，平均只有约270人。虽然有几个臭名昭著的囚犯，如阿尔·卡彭，不过大多数囚犯并不出名。很多囚犯在其他监狱越过狱或被认为是暴力的，如果在其他监狱表现不佳，他就可能被送到恶魔岛。恶魔岛上每间牢房只有一名囚犯。

Prison life at Alcatraz was highly structured and boring. It was designed to teach prisoners to follow rules. They had four rights: food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Everything else was a privilege that had to be earned. Privileges included working, visits from family members, and access to the prison library. There were also activities such as painting and music. Once a prisoner showed that he could follow the rules, he could be transferred back to another prison to finish his sentence.
恶魔岛的监狱生活是高度结构化而枯燥的，它被设计用来教导囚犯遵守规则。囚犯有四项权利：食物、衣物、住所和医疗，其他权利都需要争取，包括工作、家庭成员探访、进入监狱图书馆，以及绘画和音乐等活动。一旦囚犯表现出他可以遵守规则，他就可以转回另一个监狱完成他的刑期。

Alcatraz was used as a prison for 29 years. During that time, no prisoner escaped successfully. There were 14 escape attempts, involving 36 prisoners. Twenty-three were caught alive, and six were shot and killed. 2 men tried to escape twice. 2 drowned and 5 were listed as missing and presumed drowned. The most violent escape attempt occurred on May 2nd, 1946 when 6 prisoners tried to escape. That event is called the "Battle of Alcatraz".
恶魔岛曾用作监狱长达29年，在这段时间里，没有一名囚犯越狱成功。共有14次越狱，涉及36名囚犯。23人被活捉，6人被击毙，两名男子越狱两次，2人溺亡，5人失踪（估计已溺亡）。最暴力的越狱发生在1946年5月2日，当时有6名囚犯越狱，这次事件被称为“恶魔岛之战”。

While it was in use, Alcatraz held some of the most notorious criminals in American history, such as Al Capone. Al Capone was a crime boss who built his career in Chicago. The prison was finally closed in 1963.
It was closed because it was too expensive to operate.
在使用期间，恶魔岛关押了一些美国历史上最为臭名昭著的罪犯，比如阿尔·卡彭。阿尔·卡彭是一名犯罪团伙的头目，在芝加哥开始了自己的犯罪生涯。这座监狱最终于1963年关闭，因运营成本太高而关闭。