Excerpt from the October 29, 1963, issue of the Globe and Mail. Photo shows Arthur Lucas (middle) with Toronto detectives. (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
According to some reports, Arthur Lucas, a gangster from Detroit, came to Toronto in November 1961 with murderous intent. Some of his associates, and the police, fingered him for the gangland-style slaying of Therland Crater, who’d been scheduled to give evidence in a U.S. drug trial, and his girlfriend, Carolyn Ann Newman. In the early morning hours of November 17, both victims were found with their throats slashed. Crater had been shot four times for good measure. Lucas was tracked down in Detroit and brought back to Toronto for trial.
On May 10, 1962, Lucas was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Appeals against his sentence wended their way right up to the Supreme Court of Canada. All were in vain — the death penalty would stand.
Just after midnight on December 11, 1962, Lucas was escorted to the execution chamber at the Don Jail in Toronto.
But troubling questions lingered. Lucas had been described as slow-witted and slow-moving. Could such a person have planned and carried out a double murder with the speed and precision of a trained assassin? Was this a case of wrongful conviction?
Enter journalist Betty Lee.
Read the full article on the TVO website.
