Career
At the time of the 1962 escape he was on vacation in Lake Berryessa in Napa County, and he didn"t believe the men could have survived the waters and made it to shore. The prison closed on 21 March 1963. Blackwell was considered to have been the least strict warden of Alcatraz, perhaps in part due to him having been a heavy drinker and smoker, nicknamed "Gypsy" and known as "Blackie" to his friends.
He died on March 7th, 1986 in Hart County Georgia.