Unlucky to the end : the story of Janise Marie Gamble / Richard W. Pound.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pound, Richard W.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gamble, Janise, 1954-1989.

Gamble, Janise.

Gamble, Janise, 1954-1989--Trials, litigation, etc.

Police murders--Alberta--Calgary--History--20th century.

Police murders.

Bank robberies--Alberta--Calgary--History--20th century.

Bank robberies.

Judicial error--Canada.

Judicial error.

Female offenders--Canada--Biography.

Female offenders.

History.

Canada.

Alberta--Calgary.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiv, 241 pages, 15 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map, portraits ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2007]

Summary:

On 12 March 1976 Calgary police officer Allan Keith Harrison was shot and killed following a robbery at the Ingleside Credit Union. By the end of that year, Janise Marie Gamble, a twenty-one year-old girl from small-town Ontario, had been convicted of murder and given a sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for twenty-five years. It was clear that Gamble had not fired the shot that killed Harrison, but it was less clear whether she had participated in the robbery that had led to his murder.

In Unlucky to the End Richard Pound provides a thought-provoking examination of the circumstances of the robbery, the subsequent flight of the suspects and murder of the police officer, and the hostage scene that led to the death of one of the robbers. Using transcripts from the Calgary trial he explores Gamble's conviction and details the efforts that, after fourteen years in the desolate Kingston Prison for Women, finally led to her parole.

Pound argues that Gamble's first degree murder sentence was based on legislation not in force at the time the crime was committed, resulting in a much harsher sentence than would have applied under the existing law. The ongoing enforcement of that sentence violated the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment contained in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

Contents:

2 Vancouver 8

3 Robbery and Shootout 25

4 Initial Contacts and Opening Negotiations 40

5 Hostage Siege 58

6 End Game 74

7 On Trial for Murder 93

8 Legal Submissions, Charge to the Jury, and Verdict 132

9 Appeal and Rejection 155

10 Second Thoughts 170

11 Plan B 184

12 Supreme Court of Canada 198

13 Unlucky to the End 216.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780773533004

0773533001

OCLC:

132303233