Robert J. Hoshowsky - The Last to Die: Ronald Turpin, Arthur Lucas, and the End of Capital Punishment in Canada

T he last hangings in Canada remains a sensitive subject for many, especially those connected to Ronald Turpin and Arthur Lucas, and to their victims, Toronto police officer Frederick John Nash, Therland Crater, and Carolyn Newman.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to those who granted me interviews, sometimes resurrecting painful memories in the process. I remain especially grateful to members of the Nash/Kryskow family for sharing their stories about Frederick Nash, their late father, husband, and brother. Individuals I interviewed for this for this book include: Donald Bitter, Jackie Clausen, Ron Clifford, John Costello, Jim Crawford, Karen E. Davis, Bram Everitt, Dorothy Kryskow, Alison MacKay, Jim Majury, Nancy Morrison, Harold Nash, Julian Porter, Stephen Posen, Judy Ring, and Gwyn Jocko Thomas.

In preparing The Last to Die: Ronald Turpin, Arthur Lucas, and The End of Capital Punishment in Canada , I consulted primary source material whenever possible, beginning with the trial transcripts of Regina vs. Arthur Lucas and Regina vs. Ronald Turpin . While they remain an invaluable source of information, they remain factual and colourless by their very nature. Newspaper accounts from the Toronto Star , the Globe and Mail , and the Telegram helped add necessary emotions and detail.

No work of non-fiction is possible without extensive research, and I wish to thank the following for their assistance and encouragement: Peter C. Newman, staff at the Toronto Public Library, the City of Toronto Archives, the Archives of Ontario, Library and Archives Canada, the Ontario Realty Corporation, Major David Pitcher (retired) and Karl Larson at the Salvation Army Archives, Canada and Bermuda Territory, Sharyn Devine from Don Heights Unitarian Congregation, Jenny Seeman at the Anglican Church of Canada, Susan Lewthwaite from the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Tennessee Department of Correction, the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries, Jack Batten, Edward McGill, Gary and Lisa Cripps, the Metro Toronto Police Pensioners Association, and Norina DAgostini at the Toronto Police Museum.