Bøger af Lorna Poplak

Fascinating stories of the age-old tug-of-war between prisons desperate to keep inmates inside and the escapees pursuing freedom. A convict who returned to the prison he had recently escaped from to foment a mass break out; a murderer on the run who veered from folk hero to persona non grata after killing a famous police dog; a fugitive from the United States who was recaptured in Canada after she was featured on America's Most Wanted -- these are just a few of the felons whose prison break adventures continue to enthrall and terrify.Along with probing the origins, structure, and failings of a collection of historic and contemporary correctional institutions, On the Lam brings into sharp focus the attempts of masterminds, tricksters, villains, and innocents to claw their way to freedom -- sometimes successful, sometimes abortive, often deadly.

From Confederation in 1867 until the abolition of the death penalty in 1976, 704 people were hanged in Canada. The book examines how trial, conviction, and punishment operated then, and the relevance of capital punishment today. It profiles notable individuals: victims, murderers, judges, jurors, the wrongfully convicted ... and the hangman.

Based on progressive nineteenth-century penal reform principles, Toronto's Don Jail never lived up to its potential, deteriorating into a place of brutal violence and death. Along with the architecture of this Toronto landmark, The Don covers the politics that swirled around it for over 150 years and the crimes that took place inside.