#history of crime and punishment in canada
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“HUGE ILLICIT STILL SEIZED AT WEST ST. PAUL,” Winnipeg Tribune. December 29, 1932. Page 1.
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TWO ARRESTED FOLLOWING RAID ON DAIRY FARM
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Plant Has Capacity of Gallons of Alcohol Daily
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Believed To Have Been Operating For One Year
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Raid and Arrests Made by Mr. Stubbs of Federal Excise Department
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One of the largest illicit distilling plants ever seen in Manitoba was seized by William Stubbs of the federal excise department and a squad of R. C. M. P. on Wednesday at Lot 121, W St. Paul, one mile west of McPhillips St., and 10 miles from the city limit. Charles Pichurski and his son Mike, in whose barn the plant was found, were arrested.
Both appeared in provincial police court today when Magistrate Welsford allowed them out on ball of $2,000 each.
The still has a capacity of 1,0000 gallons of mash and running at full capacity would produce gallons of alcohol each. At the time of the seizure there were found 3,000 gallons of mash in barrels and a very large quantity of alcohol. These will be destroyed.
Cleverly Concealed
Officer Stubbs says that, from appearance and from information he received since the arrests, it would appear that the huge still has been in operation for upwards of one year. During that time, many thousands of gallons of Illicit liquor must have been dispensed.
The ‘private distillery’ was cleverly concealed and hundreds of persons must have walked under it without being aware of its existence. It was situated in the hay loft of a large bam in which 20 head of milk cows were stabled.
The still room was separated from the hay loft in a room spotlessly clean and papered. The pipe from the boiler fire found its outlet through the barn ventilators in the roof while the steam exhaust went through the wall to a manure pile.
Deserves Great Credit
Great credit is due officials for the seizure. Although it was known very large quantities of liquor were being distributed from the part of the country for a long time no clue could be obtained regarding the point of origin.
Two days ago, however, there was a ‘leak’ and as a result suspicion was directed against Pichurski and his son. The farm premises were carefully inspected on three occasions before the still was discovered.
When the premises were raided, it is that the two arrested were preparing to go to work on the job of turning out a liquor shipment.
Besides the liquor and plant there was also seized during the raid a very large quantity of sugar and other materials for the manufacture of alcohol.
Such was the weight of the equipment and mash, that the floor of the hay loft was badly sagged.
Photo caption:
MONSTER ILLICIT STILL SEIZED
One of the largest illicit distilleries ever found in Manitoba was seized Wednesday by William Stubbs, of the federal excise department, and a squad of R.C.M.P. at West St. ten miles from the city. The arrests were made at the time of the seizure. The plant was found in a hay loft over a barn. It had a capacity of 1,000 gallons of mash and could produce 175 gallons of alcohol daily. Much liquor and equipment were also taken during the raid.
#winnipeg#illicit still#excise department#moonshining#moonshine#liquor control#rural crime#rural canada#farming in canada#royal canadian mounted police#police raid#great depression in canada#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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On November 14, 1929, a serious prison strike nearly broke out at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert. Only by the narrowest of chances was the plot discovered by staff and the strike averted. The strike leaders were two convicts, Ashton and Jones, who referred to themselves in furtive notes as “sweethearts” and “lovers” - they dreamed of escaping to be together. Two hatchet-men from Ottawa were sent to clean up, senior officers of the penitentiary were dismissed, and the whole affair hushed up, save for a few stories in the newspapers. This is part of my rambling, fully informal, draft attempts to understand the origins and course and impact of the 1930s ‘convict revolt’ in Canada, and other issues related to criminality and incarceration Canadian history. (More here.)
Saskatchewan Penitentiary was, at the time, the newest federal penitentiary in Canada. Opened in 1911, to replace the territorial jail at Regina, parts of it were still under construction in 1929. UBC penologist C. W. Topping praised Sask. Pen as “the finest in the Dominion,” with supposedly ‘modern’ features in the cell-block and workshops, including an up-to-date brick factory that produced for federal buildings in the Prairies. Discipline and the organization of staff and inmates was functionally the same as everywhere else in Canada, however: forced labour, the silence system, limited privileges and entertainments, a semi-military staff force, and an isolated location far from major population centres.
The majority of inmates were sentenced from Saskatchewan and Alberta, but throughout the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Saskatchewan Penitentiary was used as an overflow facility from overcrowded Eastern prisons. In April 1929, dozens of mostly malcontent prisoners were transferred from Kingston Penitentiary. A “row” was expected with these men, but they were not closely watched or segregated from the main population. In November 1929, there were 430 prisoners at Saskatchewan Penitentiary – almost 60 were from Kingston.
The staff at Saskatchewan Penitentiary were warned on the morning of November 14, 1929, by a ‘stool pigeon’ that all work crews (called gangs) would refuse to leave their places of work “until all their demands were met with.” The stool pigeon had no idea who the ringleaders were or the demands, but the Deputy Warden, Robert Wyllie, ordered his officers to keep “a sharp lookout” for suspicious actions. Over 70 prisoners were working outside the walls in two large groups - building a road and laying sewage pipe - and they were supposed to be the epicentre of the strike. Indeed, the whole day of the 14th staff had observed them talking and passing hand gestures. Other warnings came in throughout the day, so Wyllie ordered the penitentiary locked down and the next day interviewed several inmates at random who confessed they had no idea how word about the strike leaked out. For reasons we’ll get into, they were "amazed at being locked in their cells" and surprised by the swift reaction from the Deputy Warden. During the morning of the 15th, one man named Ford was strapped 24 times for attempting to incite a disturbance in his cell block. Noise and shouting echoed throughout the ranges.
Prisoners working on a building foundation at Saskatchewan Penitentiary, c. 1927
In a state of growing panic, Wyllie first phoned Warden W. J. McLeod, on medical leave since September and so sick he could barely answer the phone. Wyllie then telegraphed Ottawa in a vague way, indicating a “serious situation” and asking for someone to come and take charge. Unsure of what was going on, the Superintendent of Penitentiaries, W. St. Pierre Hughes, dispatched five trusted officers from Manitoba Penitentiary, summoned the nearest RCMP detachment, and ordered his personal hatchet-man, Inspector of Penitentiaries E. R. Jackson, to proceed to Prince Albert and take charge. Jackson would be accompanied by R. M. Allan, Structural Engineer, who had worked at Saskatchewan Penitentiary for a decade in the 1910s and "who knew the prison from long experience."
Almost everything in the historical record about this episode comes from Jackson and Allan’s investigation. Their personalities and prerogatives colour completely the available accounts. They were not great record keepers. They were, like many civil servants of the era, bitchy gossips. Both men were known as severe disciplinarians. Jackson, though only appointed as an Inspector in 1924, had become an indispensable figure to Superintendent Hughes. Jackson would be sent to institutions that Hughes viewed as insufficiently following his regulations, or where inmate unrest posed a problem. Jackson was sent to handle a riot at St. Vincent de Paul Penitentiary in December 1925, ordering a brutal round of lashings against accused agitators. He headed the British Columbia Penitentiary for a year and a half when Hughes fired the warden on spurious ground.
It was at B.C. Pen that Jackson met Allan, then the Chief Industrial Officer, and the two would work together closely not just at Prince Albert but also in the construction and opening of Collin’s Bay Penitentiary in Kingston. Jackson also was acting warden at Kingston Penitentiary in summer 1930. One KP lifer testified in 1932 that Jackson was “a mean son of a bitch” who ordered draconian punishments for relatively minor offences. Allan would himself become warden of Kingston Penitentiary in mid-1934, and held that position until 1954.
In short, these were not men sympathetic to prison officers they viewed as incompetent or remotely curious about inmate complaints. Their investigation was about establishing blame and getting things back to ‘normal.’ They concurred with Hughes that "men never rebel where there is a tight grip retained of them by management." There is some truth to this, as sociologist Bert Useem has repeatedly argued in his work on American prison riots: a ruthless but effective and well organized prison staff is likely to stop even the best organized prisoner protest.
In a strictly hierarchical, patrimonial system like an early 20th century penitentiary, where all authority rests with a few men at the top, failures of leadership are often critical. This is a factor often overlooked in popular and academic histories of prisoner resistance and riots (rightly so, perhaps, as we should focus on the actions of the incarcerated, nor their jailers). Of course, strikes and riots in prisons, as elsewhere, never just happen – as Hughes himself noted, this “must have been developing for sometime - [revolts] never occur in a day or two."
This photo shows the chief officers involved in this event. From left to right: Saskatchewan Penitentiary Deputy Warden R. Wyllie and Warden W. J. Macleod, Superintendent of Penitentiaries W. S. Hughes, Accountant G. Dillon, Inspector of Penitentiaries E. R. Jackson.
Jackson quickly fixed blamed on Deputy Warden Wyllie. They were "very much surprised by the lack of initiative" of Wyllie, who seemed to have been cowed by the fifty men working on the outside that had tried to strike. This despite the presence of almost a dozen armed officers nearby! Wyllie had had a nervous breakdown from stress, and had allowed, in Jackson’s eyes, a “lack of efficiency and discipline” to pervade the prison. He was "indecisive" in giving punishments at Warden’s Court, causing “the inmates to gloat over and ridicule the officers…" Inmates charged with fighting, insolence, or swearing at officers were warned or reprimanded, the least severe punishment for such severe infractions of the rules. Several officers felt that “there was no use of reporting the inmates” and so they "closed their eyes to a lot of infractions." Another officer thought that since September 1929 "inmates had became cocky … would laugh in the my face and...tell me to report him when he liked...for it would do no good." This situation was very similar to Kingston Penitentiary before the riot in October 1932, and, indeed, typified the crisis of the 1970s in federal prisons as well.
The November 14-15 disturbance was actually not the first strike episode at Saskatchewan Penitentiary that year. There had been unrest or talk of strikes among the prisoners since early September, with a general atmosphere of defiance and mockery of authorities. Many inmates resisted by going “through the motion of working" but not actually completing tasks. There had been a work refusal in late September, and two other strikes or work refusals in the middle of October. In these cases Wyllie intervened personally, but did not investigate, punish the strikers, or rectify the situation. There are not even reports on file about these events, and the record of reports against inmates for violating rules bears out this feeling that prisoners would “have their own way” and no ‘effective’ action would be taken against their rebellions. That is, effective by the standards of guards, who expected their commands to be obeyed absolutely.
Few demands were discovered – or least Jackson did not think the ones he turned up were worth elaborating on. There seemed to have been general opposition to the Steward's department – the “grub” was satisfactory, but apparently not distributed fairly, according to the inmates. The Steward and Deputy Warden had allowed inmates to place “special instructions” for their meals, and they would shout out their orders like they were at a diner, or exchanged their tickets to swap meals. The queued, single file, food line, with no talking and the same meal for everyone, had disappeared, and restoring this system was Jackson’s first act when he took over. Of course, food in prisoner protests stands in for more than just a meal, while also representing a very basic need that is one of the few things to look forward to during days of monotonous labour.
Much of the unrest centred on certain work crews, whose officers were resented, and communication with family, better work arrangements, socializing, access to newspapers, all are mentioned in passing in the investigation files. The “Kingston boys” were also the loudest supporters or organizers of the strikes, and they apparently resented being exiled to Saskatchewan. At least one inmate, Radke, told other inmates he wanted the strike to force a Royal Commission to investigate the prison. This kind of demand would be repeated again and again in 1932 and 1933 during prison riots across Canada.
Cell block in 1930 at Saskatchewan Penitentiary. The beds in the corridors are due to severe overcrowding.
George Ashton was singled out as one of the organizers of the abortive strike. Serving a term for armed robbery, he was one of the Kingston transfers. On November 15, 1929, he was caught trying to throw a letter away. This letter is addressed to another inmate who he had hoped to escape with. Ashton, "a troublesome, Smart Alec kid,” was sentenced to be shackled for ten days to his cell bars and to spend sixty days in isolation. Typical of Jackson’s more ‘effective’ regime.
Ashton’s note was addressed to his 'Pal', Allen, alias Bertram Allen Jones. Both worked in different work crews labouring outside the walls. Ashton’s letter to Jones identifies him as his sweetheart and lover, and promised that "he'll not get into trouble again because of these screws...I will sincerely try to refrain from letting my emotions run riot....My nature is not one which will allow me to lay down and be trodden upon forever without making some squawk." Ashton indicated he wanted to "make the time elapsing between your release and our reunion as sort as possible." He asked how Jones’ time was going, and ended by expressing his longing and desire to be with Jones:
"OH hawt dawg mamma won't we make up for the time of our separation??? Sweetheart I'll be loving you..." Say what's the answer to that companionate [sic] marriage idea? Thinking of accepting or am I such a damn bothersome person that your going to turn me down?.....there'll be a time when we're happy and gay (in each other arms).”
This was apparently one of many letters the two had exchanged, and contrary to the usual arrangements of wolves and punks in early 20th century prisons, where older men ‘protect’ younger inmates, often to extract sexual favours, this was apparently a consensual and sincere relationship. Not as uncommon as might be expected, of course, but it’s unusual to find such boldly expressed desire and love in this period of the archival record. Of course, Hughes thought this letter confirmed that Ashton was "a low bestial sort." Jones was identified as one of the other ringleaders, and he and Ashton had been seen talking to each other and making hand gestures several times in the months leading up to their strike attempt.
Who these men were and what happened to them after their time in prison I don’t know, yet.
Transcript of Ashton's letter to Jones, the only part of their correspondence that survives today
Inspector Jackson stayed in charge for another two months at Saskatchewan Penitentiary. An attempt to start on insurrection on November 20, 1929, was broken by strapping four of the leaders: “since then the Prison is absolutely quiet." Always full of himself, Jackson included letters of thanks from officers who praised his leadership, including the prison doctor: "We were drifting badly, discipline had practically ceased...now we are back and a Prison once more." He felt satisfied that retiring Wyllie and Warden Macleod had solved the problem, and left Allan in charge starting in mid-December 1929.
While I have no doubt that Deputy Warden Wyllie was responsible for the growth of an inmate strike movement, I don’t believe it is purely a case of his incompetence allowing inmates to organize. Rather, he proved himself to be an open door to prisoners already planning protests, and his inability to act with the severity expected by prisoners and staff alike encouraged further protests. Like a lot of federal civil servants, Wyllie was likely promoted above his abilities, with his loyalty to Hughes, seniority, indispensability to superior officers, and local influence helping to further his career. This was Jackson’s trajectory as well, ironically – once Hughes retired in early 1932, Jackson was on the outs, transferred to clerical duties in Ottawa, and he was dismissed in December 1932 as part of the purge initiated of penitentiary officers by the new Superintendent.
Additionally, it is clear to me that the issues at Saskatchewan Penitentiary extended beyond one officer – and indeed blaming Wyllie absolved a bunch of other officers of corruption and incompetence. Serious issues in the Hospital, Kitchen, School, and Workshops, were identified by Allan when he took over, with trafficking and contraband in cigarette papers, pipes, lighters, smuggled cigarettes, photographs and letters widespread. The Boiler House, where “considerable contraband has been located,” had seven inmate workers, who laboured "without direct supervision...” These men resented the crackdown and refused to work in February 1930 – which revealed to Allan the danger of allowing inmates to have full control of the power plant of the penitentiary.
Allan fired the officer in charge of the boiler house, the hospital overseer, the storekeeper, and reprimanded other officers for failing to confiscate contraband items. Fake keys were found throughout the prison, likely to be used in escapes or smuggling. Inmates had been allowed for years to order magazines direct from the publisher – and did not have them passed through the censor. Another mass strike was attempted in January 1930, apparently to protest Allan cracking down on these deviations from the regulations. As always, it should be recalled that what the officers saw as corruption or smuggling against regulations were all activities that made 'doing time' easier.
Why care about this episode, beyond some of the points I’ve already raised? One aspect of historical study I am most interested in are the precursors to a major event - the struggles, organizing, movements, victories and defeats that (sometimes with hindsight, sometimes without) shape a more influential and decisive event. This is especially difficult when writing the history of prisoner resistance, which often appears a discontinuous history, full of gaps and seemingly sudden flare-ups. The 1930s were a decade of prison riots, strikes, escapes and protests in federal and provincial prisons, but obviously these did not arise from nothing. The 1929 strike attempt at Saskatchewan Penitentiary is a transitional event – similar to earlier strikes and protests going back to the late 19th century, but occurring at the very start of the Great Depression, a premonition of things to come.
#prince albert penitentiary#prince albert#prison strike#prison riot#convict revolt#prisoner organzing#prison administration#prison management#causes of prison riots#my writing#dominion penitentiaries#saskatchewan history#queer history#history of homosexuality in canada#great depression in canada#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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"DYING GIRL FOUND IN CORN FIELD," Cobalt Daily Nugget. December 22, 1913. Page 1.
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Finnish Girl Expires and Death Mystifies Police
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(By Canadian Press.)
TORONTO, Dec. 22. - On Dec. 4th Annie Jokinson, a Finnish girl, employed at Annesley Hall, the girl students residence of Victoria College, while out for a walk in the northern part of the city, disappeared. Yesterday she was lying under the shelter of a found corn stook in a field at the corner of Eglinton Ave. and Forest Hill road in a dying condition, and expired shortly after being carried to a nearby farm house. The police are mystified.
#toronto#mysterious death#found dead#corn field#servant girl#domestic servant#college students#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada#police investigation#finnish canadians#finnish immigration to canada
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“Girl 'Husband' Admits Guilt,” Montreal Star. March 14, 1942. Page 3.
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Antoinette Arsenault Pleads Guilty to Fraud Counts on Arraignment
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Dressed in the men's clothes in which she married another girl here two weeks ago, Antoinette Arsenault, 22, formerly of Ottawa, appeared before Judge Marin in arraignment court today and pleaded guilty to charges of falsifying a birth certificate and of using it to commit a fraudulent act. She will be sentenced March 18.
According to police, the girl posed as Andre Arsenault, the name she used on her registration card. She and the girl she married worked in the Bouchard munitions plant at Ste. Therese for two years. Her "wife" is Rita Ouellette, 19-year-old New Brunswick girl.
The case has been turned over to the Quebec Attorney-General and other charges may be laid depending on his decision.
#montreal#ottawa#arraignment court#cross dressing#same sex marriage#same sex relationships#history of homosexuality in canada#queer history#false pretences#forged documents#canada during world war 2#women in the toils#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada#male impersonator
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“Release Two Transients Locked Up in Town Jail,” Kingston Whig-Standard. January 10, 1933. Page 1.
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MERRICKVILLE, Jan. 10— Tearing the lock off the town hall cell, a group of local young men over the week-end released two transients who had been locked up for causing a disturbance. One at the guards was out for a meal when the "jail delivery" occurred and the other was instructed to leave the town hall while the prisoners were released. An investigation into the matter is being held and the town considering the advisability of employing a regular constable. The two offenders were to have been released after one night’s incarceration.
[AL: A wild story. Merrickville is a pretty small town on the Rideau Canal, and had no police force in 1933 - that a group of local young men felt justified in releasing prisoners is remarkable as well. Direct action gets the goods!]
#merrickville#jailbreak#direct action#decarceration#release them all#transients#hobo#fear of transients#youth in revolt#police cells#small town ontario#rideau canal#great depression in canada#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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“Convicts Celebrated May Day With Songs,” Kingston Whig-Standard. May 2, 1933. Page 3.
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Could Be Heard Very Distinctly by Those Outside the Walls
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Hooting, shouting and singing popular songs with a gusto that made their voices clearly heard by passersby on the road, convicts of the Kingston Penitentiary, quartered in the new female prison, had their little private May Day celebration last night. Till after nine o'clock the convicts demonstrated their vocal propensities.
"We Want Nickle!” was heard more than once by persons passing the prison. This referred to the counsel for several of the convicts charged with rioting, who was successful in having the only convict, whose trial is concluded, acquitted on the charge.
Around nine o'clock when it could be noticed that the convicts were getting tired of their own noise, strains which sounded very much like "Try A Little Tenderness" drifted out to those who were listening from the Prison Road and other popular songs were sung. A little later the convicts decided to sleep and called it a day.
Warden W. B. Megloughlin, when spoken to regarding the incident, said that apparently the convicts were celebrating May Day, but except for the noise the prison routine, was undisturbed. The convicts were all in their cells and when they got tired celebrating they went to sleep.
#kingston ontario#kingston penitentiary#prison for women#may day#try a little tenderness#song in prison#prisoner protest#prison song#convict revolt#1933 prisoner trials#1932 kp riot#great depression in canada#red flag#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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"WHITE MICE CARRIED CONVICT'S MESSAGES," Daily British Whig (Kingston, Ontario). October 21, 1920. Page 2.
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Penitentiary Inmates Have a Complete System of Telegraphy.
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In view of the combined efforts of the convicts at the penitentiary to create a disturbance by yelling and hooting in the cells, citizens have been wondering how they carried out a system to bring it all about.
It is claimed that the convicts in the "pen" have a complete system of tapping or telegraphy, by which they communicate with each other, and it is carried on with great success, in spite of the efforts of the prison authorities to put a stop to it. Sometimes the tapping is carried out on the walls, or their tin drinking cups, but it is known for a fact that convicts have communicated with each other in this way, and that many a scheme has been carried out as a result.
It is stated that some few years ago, several of the convicts had white mice as their pets and that the mice were used to carry messages to and fro among the convicts. This may appear as a fairy story, but it is vouched for, by people in a position to know. Needless to say there are no white mice in the penitentiary to-day.
#kingston penitentiary#kingston ontario#prison strike#prisoner protest#prison agitator#trafficking in prison#smuggling contraband#smuggling letters#causes of prison riots#1920 kp rcmp investigation#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada#prison grapevine
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"2 jeunes gens sont morts de façon tragique," La Presse. August 10, 1943. Page 3.
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Ils auraient bu de l'alcool de bois dimanche dernier. - Enquête demain.
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Deux adolescents ont succombé, ce matin, à un empoisonnement causé par l'absorption d'alcool de bols. Tous deux sont de S.-Henri. Il s'agit de Marcel Roy, 14 ans, 5172, rue Ste- Marle, et de Marcel S.-Jean, 15 ans, 5061 ouest, rue Notre-Dame,
Le premier a succombé vers 2 h., ce matin, en l'hôpital Général de Verdun où il avait été transporté hier soir. Le second est mort vers 8 h. ce matin à l'hôpital Général, division ouest. Les cadavres furent transportés à la morgue de Montréal où une enquête sera ouverte demain matin avec un jury sous la présidence du Dr Pierre Hebert, coroner conjoint du district de Montréal.
Témoignages des parents
D'après les témoignages des parents des victimes voici les détails de cette tragédie: Les deux jeunes hommes étalent partis de leur domicile respectif de bonne heure dimanche après-midi pour se rendre, avec un groupe d'amis, au parc Lafontaine. Ils y avaient passé l'après-midi.
Au cours de la soirée du même jour, ils s'étalent rendus, avec les mêmes amis, à une soirée d'amateurs qui avait lieu au stade Notre- Dame, chemin de la Côte S.-Paul.
Le frère d'une des victimes, M. Lucien S.-Jean, nous a déclaré que ce serait au cours de la soirée que les deux malheureux auraient absorbé la boisson mortelle.
Il nous a encore déclaré qu'hier matin, Mme Hugues S.-Jean réveilla son fils, Marcel, à l'heure habituelle, pour aller travailler. Cependant, le jeune homme refusa de se lever, révélant à sa mère qu'il souffrait d'un violent mal de tête et de maux d'estomac. Elle lui demanda alors ce qu'il avait mangé ou bu la veille. Il répondit qu’il n'avait rien bu et qu'il se sentait simplement malade. Sur la fin de l'après-midi d'hier, M. Lucien S.-Jean constata que l'état de son frère empirait. "Les yeux lui sortaient de la tête", dit-il, et il avait l'écume à la bouche.
"Il était presque méconnaissable". C'est alors qu'll fit venir le Dr Laurin, de la rue Notre-Dame ouest, qui lui conseilla de faire transporter le malade à l'hôpital.
Mustisme complet
"Nous avons tenté par tous les moyens, durant la journée de lundi, de lui faire avouer ce qu'il avait absorbé, mais ce fut en vain. Ce n'est qu'à l'hôpital qu'il nous déclara avoir pris de l'alcool avec des amis. Il n'a j'amais voulu nous dire qui lui avait donné la boisson".
"Après avoir fait transporter mon frère à l'hôpital, ajouta M. Lucien S.-Jean, je me rendis chez les parents du jeune Roy. Je savais que Marcel Roy soufrait du même mal. Je leur enjoignis de faire transporter leur fils à l'hôpital.
M. et Mme Joseph Roy, parents de l'autre victime, nous ont déclaré qu'ils tentèrent eux aussi de faire avouer à leur enfant ce qu'il avait pala. Es n'obtinrent pas plus de succès. Le Dr Archambault prodigua les premiers soins au jeune Roy.
Les deux adolescents conservèrent le plus absolu mutisme jusqu'à leur dernière heure. Mais on croit qu'un adulte leur aurait fourni l’alcool. Le Dr Jean-Marie Roussel, médecin-légiste, nous déclarait ce matin qu'à leur äge un ou deux onces d'alcool de bols suffisaient pour causer la mort. Même si les deux victimes avalent déclaré plus tôt qu'ils avaient absorbé une telle boisson on aurait eu peu de chances de les sauver.
Les sergants détectives Fitzparick et Senecal, de l'escouade des homicides font aujourd'hui une en- quête dans ce cas. On s'attend à des révélations prochaines.
Legende:
MARCEL ROY (à gauche) et MARCEL SAINT-JEAN, morts dans des circonstances étranges à l'hôpital après avoir bu, dimanche dernier, ce que l'on croit être de l'alcool de bois.
#montreal#alcohol poisoning#wood alcohol#dangerous drinking#substance abuse#blind drunk#youth in the toils#young delinquents#youth delinquency#canada during world war 2#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada#homicide squad#police investigation
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"URGED INDIAN TO TRUST WHITE MAN," Toronto Star. January 8, 1913. Page 3.
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Outlaw Killed Two White Men Who Abused His Wife.
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BEST SHOT IN COUNTRY
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Canadian Press Despatch.
Vancouver, B. C. Jan. 8. - That Simon-Gun-A-Noot, noted Indian outlaw, who for years has successfully defied the police in northern British Columbia, recently considered giving himself up voluntarily to the authorities at Hazelton is the information brought down from the north. Gun-A-Noot is wanted for the murder of two men several years ago.
Rev. Willian Lee, a Methodist minister at Kispiox, which is twelve miles from Hazelton, assists the Indians under his charge in handling the business affairs of their saw mill, which is a co-operative concern, with many native shareholders. A short time ago a strange Indian of fine physique and speaking perfect English called on the missionary asking for the return of certain money he said he had invested in the mill.
When Mr. Lee asked for the visitor's name, the latter, after hesitating, admitted he was the famous outlaw, and his name was found in the list of shareholders. After the business had been concluded Mr. Lee advised the Indian to give himself up.
"But the white men would not take into consideration that I killed their two men because they had abused my wife," objected the outlaw.
Refused to Surrender.
Simon went away after agreeing to think over the proposition, but later in the day returned and said he would not surrender himself. He said his friends believed that a jury of white men would not pay enough attention to what led to the murders, because, he declared, white men did not care what was done to Indian women. Mr. Lee told a friend later that Simon was armed with three revolvers - one on each hip and one in a holster in the centre of his belt.
Simon is known as probably the surest shot and best hunter in the north. He was always looked upon as a model Indian until the day when. after having warned two white men to keep away from his wife, he returned from the hunt to find his wife debauched and the two whites holding a drunken celebration in his home. He shot them both dead and then fled, successfully evading capture.
#hazelton bc#vancouver#outlaw#wanted fugitive#armed bandits#indigenous people#first nations#indigenous resistance#settler colonialism in canada#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada#british columbia history#simon gunanoot
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“Girl Stole Flask Of French Perfume,” Toronto Star. December 22, 1932. Page 3.
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Truthful and Made Restitution Reports Store Detective
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Whether or not ‘expensive Paris perfurme’ was a necessity in these times was a doubtful question, Magistrate Patterson thought when Brani Smith pleaded guilty, in women’s police court to-day, to stealing a costly flagon of the exotic essence.
The woman was very truthful, a store detective said, and restitution had been made.
Magsitrate Patterson: ‘Those are nice fur coats for people on city relief.’
Crown Attorney Malone, referring to Mrs. Smith and her husband: ‘Camel’s hair.’
Mrs. Smith was remanded till December 29 for sentence. Investigations will be made.
An attractive girl, jobless for some time and without funds, took some pomamengrate of potash tablets. She pleaded guilty to-day to attempting to end her life, and was remanded to the Psychiatric hospital for examination. The girl said she had lost a position through going to work one day while ‘under the weather,’ a city detective told the court.
The aftermath of a charge of threatening against Jean McKinley was that both she and complainant were bound over.
‘The woman came to my door and knocked’ complainant explained, but got no further when her worship reminded him that the case had been dealt with.
#toronto#women's police court#restiution#shoplifting#shoplifters#stolen perfume#stolen furs#class and crime#poverty crimes#unemployed#women in the toils#fines and costs#great depression in canada#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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"CONSTABLE DISMISSED," Ottawa Citizen. October 15, 1913. Page 1.
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Use of Revolver Not Justified by Circumstances.
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Arthur Ainscough, the police constable who fired three shots at a man in front of Wah Lee's laundry, corner of St. Patrick street and King Edward avenue, about 2.30 last Monday morning, was today dismissed from force. His use of the weapon was reckless, since he says that the man had not entered the laundry. There was not sufficient provocation to warrant the use of a revolver. Ainscough came here three weeks ago from New Bedford, Mass., where he was employed for some time on the police force. He will leave for New Bedford today. He has lost his taste for police experience and intends to try some other line. The man at whom the constable fired got away and the police have not any good clue as to who he is.
#ottawa#police shooting#use of force#shots fired#shooting incident#chinese laundry#chinese canadians#racism in canada#police racism#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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“TWO-YEAR TERM GIVEN MAN WHO STABBED WOMAN,” Winnipeg Tribune. December 29, 1932. Page 1.
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Arthur W. Gray, Who Had Previous Record, Sent To Penitentiary
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The ending to a dramatic Christmas Eve stabbing affray was heard in city police court today when Arthur
W. Gray, alias Thomas Rooney, was given a two-year penitentiary term for wounding Mrs. Margaret Price. His previous police record showed he had been convicted several ago of assault and battery and of pointing a revolver.
Gray, who was at Price's lodging house on Colony st., came downstairs from his room while a Christmas Eve party was in progress. Among the guests was a young woman who had previously lodged at the house and for whom Gray had formed a strong attachment.
He went around the room shaking hands and exchanging greetings with the guests apparently in the best of humor. But when he came to the young woman he suddenly whipped out a knife to stab her.
Mrs. Price, the landlady, stepped in front to protect her and was stabbed in the left breast. If the knife had struck her one inch higher the wound would probably have been fatal, the court was told.
The young woman was also slightly wounded in the scuffle that followed before Gray was overpowered by the other guests.
#winnipeg#christmas#christmas eve#stabbing affray#stabbing#stabbed with a knife#wounding#knife attack#long criminal record#assault and battery#sentenced to the penitentiary#manitoba penitenitiary#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada#great depression in canada
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"Simon Gun-A-Noot May Surrender," The Inland Sentinel (Kamloops). January 24, 1913. Page 3.
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Victoria, Jan. 23 - Communication has been established between the British Columbia Government and the Indian outlaw Simon Gun-A-Noot, and it is regarded as practically certain that the long-hunted Indian will shortly surrender self the criminal courts which it is virtually, conceded can end only in his acquittal. Until he is brought to trial a nolle prosequi cannot be entered by the Crown.
Gun-a-Noot some six or seven years ago shot dead a French half breed named Le Clair and boon companion who, upon his return from one of his hunting expeditions, he found in company with his (Gun-a-Noot's) wife. He had previously warned the Frenchmen to keep away from his home and especially not to give liquor to the woman. The Indian is alleged to have shot Le Clair's companion only when he drew a revolver. The outlaw Indian had a long chat recently with Rev. William Lee, the resident Methodist missionary at Kispiox, who urged him to give himself up.
"But the white man would not take into consideration that I killed these men because they had abused and disgraced my wife," urged the Indian. "I do not believe, and my friends do not believe, that a white man's jury could give enough attention to what led to my becoming a murderer - white men do not what is done to Indian women."
When last seen at Kispiox, Simon Gun-a-Noot was fully armed, with revolvers ready to either hand and a spare one in a holster. He is accounted probably the surest shot and the best hunter in the north. He was always looked on a a model Indian until the day after having previously warned two white men to leave his wife alone, he returned from, the hunt to find his wife intoxicated and the two whites holding a drunken celebration in his home. The fact that he has the sympathy of the residents in his district is evidenced in his ability at all times during his exile to keep well supplied with food and ammunition, and without once leaving his own hunting ground and each year sending his fur pack to market.
#kispiox#victoria#outlaw#wanted fugitive#armed bandits#indigenous people#first nations#indigenous resistance#settler colonialism in canada#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada#british columbia history#simon gunanoot#gitxsan nation
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""Patriotic" Thieves Take Victory Bonds," Montreal Star. May 7, 1943. Page 3.
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BURGLARS broke into the Atlas Dry Goods Company store at 2038 St. Lawrence boulevard last night, smashed open the safe, and stole $700 in cash and $1,200 worth of Victory Bonds.
The thieves entered an adjoining vacant house and first tried to pierce a hole through through the wall between the two buildings. Unsuccessful, they next broke through a skylight to the roof crossed to the Atlas Building and chopped an opening to the second floor. It was then an easy matter to reach the safe and smash it. The theft was only discovered at 9 a.m. today.
#montreal#dry goods store#burglary#burglars#safecrackers#safecracking#stolen cash#victory bonds#canada during world war 2#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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"CHINESE SHOPLIFTER IS SENT TO PRISON," Victoria Daily Times. December 23, 1913. Page 18.
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Stole Bottle of Perfume From Spencer Store and Gets Two Months
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There have been some complaints made to the police about petty pilfering in the stores during the Christmas rush, but nothing very extensive is being done, and there do not appear to be any professional shop-lifters at work.
Acting on information the police had received in regard to a Chinese, Detective Macdonald arrested So Kee as he came out of Spencer's about eight o'clock last night, following him across View street and arresting him on the other side. So Kee had in his hand a small parcel wrapped up, but a casual feeling of his clothes failed to reveal anything concealed.
Macdonald took his prisoner to the detective-office for more careful search. The door was locked and he had to reach for his keys. When the Chinese heard the keys jingle he began to struggle with the officer and proved to be a husky individual. Macdonald had to call in the assistance of a passing citizen to open the door for him.
In the struggle a bottle fell from the clothes of the man and broke on the pavement. When he had the man secured inside, Macdonald went out and found a twelve-ounce bottle which had contained perfume. In falling the corner had been knocked off the bottom and the contents had vanished, but the air carried scents of new-mown hay such as even the market building never knew before. The bottle was unwrapped and there was everything to indicate that it had not left Spencer's as a purchase.
Inquiry there showed that no sale had been made of the bottle, and today So Kee was accused of stealing it from David Spencer, Limited, pleading not guilty and being defended by J. S. Brandon.
Miss Mary Bell, assistant manager of the drug department, identified the bottle and her marks on it. The bottle was one from which perfume was retailed, and none of the clerks would have been able to sell it either whole or part filled without obtaining a price on it from the manager or herself. She was certain that the bottle had not been sold, as under the office system it would be impossible for this to take place without her knowledge, and a record being in existence.
There was nothing to be said for the defence, and So was sent to jail for two months.
#victoria#police court#shoplifter#shoplifting#stolen perfume#department store#chinese canadians#chinese immigration to canada#sentenced to prison#saanich jail#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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"CHARGE PIGEON THEFT." Montreal Gazette. December 12, 1913. Page 3.
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Upon a warrant from the Police Court charging him with the theft of 21 pigeons from the shop of Arthur Rapelle at 33 St. Margaret street, Paul Corbin, 17 years of age, of 100 Palm street, was arrested by Detectives Kavanagh and Fouccault yesterday afternoon. The prisoner was locked up at headquarters to appear in the Arraignment Court this morning.
#montreal#police court#arraignment court#theft#stolen pigeons#pigeon theft#teenage criminal#criminal suspect#youth in the toils#crime and punishment in canada#history of crime and punishment in canada
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