From the infamous pirate Jean Laffite and the storied couple Bonnie
and Clyde, to less familiar bandits like train-robber Eugene Bunch
and suspected murderer Leather Britches Smith, Legendary Louisiana
Outlaws explores Louisiana's most fascinating fugitives. In this
entertaining volume, Keagan LeJeune draws from historical accounts
and current folklore to examine the specific moments and legal
climate that spawned these memorable characters. He shows how
Laffite embodied Louisiana's shift from an entrenched French and
Spanish legal system to an American one, and relates how the
notorious groups like the West and Kimbrell Clan served as
community leaders and law officers but covertly preyed on
Louisiana's Neutral Strip residents until citizens took the law
into their own hands. Likewise, the bootlegging Dunn brothers in
Vinton, he explains, demonstrate folk justice's distinction between
an acceptable criminal act (operating an illegal moonshine still)
and an unacceptable one (cold-blooded murder). Recounting each
outlaw's life, LeJeune also considers their motives for breaking
the law as well as their attempts at evading capture. Running from
authorities and trying to escape imprisonment or even death, these
men and women often relied on the support of ordinary citizens,
sympathetic in the face of oppressive and unfair laws. Through the
lens of folk life, LeJeune's engaging narrative demonstrates how a
justice system functions and changes and highlights Louisiana's
particular challenges in adapting a system of law and order to work
for everyone.
General
Imprint: |
Louisiana State University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
February 2016 |
Authors: |
Keagan Lejeune
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 25mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
|
Pages: |
272 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8071-6257-6 |
Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
History >
General
Books >
History >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8071-6257-4 |
Barcode: |
9780807162576 |
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