Whibbs Shannon - Wrong side of the law: true stories of crime

L iving on the wrong side of the law has never been an enviable existence. Those who have experienced it have often been among the first to warn juvenile offenders against falling into the trap of lawlessness advice that they themselves failed to heed in their youth. Life on the run can certainly have moments of adrenaline-pumping excitement, but one can get the same thing from any number of legitimate challenges, from bungee-jumping to working as a professional in search-and-rescue operations.

There is nothing glamorous about being a fugitive from the law, no matter how much Hollywood romanticizes it. The highly successful organized-crime boss with a fine house and an offshore account full of tainted money is in many ways no different from the two-bit burglar who resides in cheap rooms and lives from one robbery to the next. Both live in fear of making a mistake, of being betrayed, or of any unforeseen clue that will bring the police to their door.

Of course, there is always the threat of punishment. In colonial Canada that could mean flogging, imprisonment, or being hanged and then having your body gibbeted as a warning to others. Over the years the more barbaric punishments were discarded as unfit for a civilized and enlightened nation. It was also obvious that they were ineffective as deterrents to crime.

Some people who live on the wrong side of the law are drawn by the prospect of easy money. Like career criminal Micky McArthur, they might think that working is for fools. Or, like the outlaw Newton brothers, they might have seen how years of honest toil got their families and neighbours nowhere, and decided that armed robbery would be an acceptable method not only of survival, but also of financial success. As the Newtons put it, robbery was their business. Such criminals dont fear punishment because they dont expect to get caught. They believe they are smart enough to always stay one jump ahead of the police.

Other people, like Sydney Lass, wander over to the wrong side of the law while they are still very young and never find their way back. Lass spent more time in prison than he did out of it and never learned to be anything but a thief. For Lass and many others like him, jail becomes an occupational hazard part of the game. Harsh sentences meted out only to only punish do nothing to help them change their ways. If anything, they turn out criminals who are only more bitter and all the more seasoned in the cynicism of underworld life. Short-sighted get tough policies of populist law and order governments fill jails, but history has shown that they dont do a thing to address the social problems that are at the root of crime.

This doesnt mean that the criminal is absolved of all responsibility. No matter how dire an individuals circumstances, it still comes down to a matter of choices. Verne Sankey could have pursued an honest career as an engineer for the CPR. He chose the wrong side of the law and became a bootlegger, bank robber, and kidnapper. The Newton boys in the 1920s, and Micky McArthur in the 1970s said that they only wanted money and didnt intend to hurt anybody. We wasnt thugs, said Willis Newton. But the Newtons didnt hesitate to shoot bank messengers during a holdup in downtown Toronto. McArthur was responsible for the shooting of four police officers. When a person uses a weapon to commit robbery, that person is a thug, whether or not physical harm is done to other people. The potential for extreme violence is always at hand, and tragedy can be but a heartbeat away, for those who live on the wrong side of the law.