Edwin B. Swope

Edwin Burnham Swope (May 6, 1888 – December 26, 1955), nicknamed "Cowboy", was the second warden of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, which was situated on Alcatraz Island, California, US. He was a native of New Mexico, having been born at Santa Fe in 1888. His earlier posts as warden included New Mexico State Prison, Washington State's McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary, and the Federal Penitentiary at Terre Haute, Indiana.

Swope served at Alcatraz from 1948 to 1955.

Warden of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary Swope was the last political appointee to serve as Alcatraz's warden, He was described as having a soft voice, gray hair, and wore rimless eyeglasses. His fashion style of sombrero, cowboy boots, and rings and belt buckles of turquoise bore out his southwest heritage. Swope was approximately 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and of slender build. He was a fan of horse racing.

In his first 18 months as warden, Swope introduced painting and a prisoners' orchestra as reform measures. He was a strict disciplinarian but unlike his predecessor, James A. Johnston, he was considered the most disliked warden of Alcatraz with his officers and the inmates. He once said, in response to an inmate who complained to him on the recreation yard about his term of 199 years, which was really a life sentence, "My boy, we're all doing life. Every one of us is doing life." At the age of 66, he resigned from his post at Alcatraz on January 21, 1955, shortly before his death.