This Day in Crime History: DECEMBER 28, 1793 : AN AMERICAN HERO IS ARRESTED IN FRANCE

Thomas Paine is arrested in France for treason. Though the charges against him were never detailed, he had been tried in absentia on December 26 and convicted. Before moving to France, Paine was an instrumental figure in the American Revolution as the author of Common Sense, writings used by George Washington to inspire the American troops. Paine moved to Paris to become involved with the French Revolution, but the chaotic political climate turned against him, and he was arrested and jailed for crimes against the country.

When he first arrived in Paris, Paine was heartily welcomed and granted honorary citizenship by leaders of the revolution who enjoyed his antiroyalty book The Rights of Man. However, before long, he ran afoul of his new hosts. Paine was strictly opposed to the death penalty under all circumstances and he vocally opposed the French revolutionaries who were sending hundreds to the guillotine. He also began writing a provocative new book, The Age of Reason, which promoted the controversial notion that God did not influence the actions of people and that science and rationality would prevail over religion and superstition. Although Paine realized that sentiment was turning against him in the autumn of 1793, he remained in France because he believed he was helping the people.

After he was arrested, Paine was taken to Luxembourg Prison. The jail was formerly a palace and unlike any other detainment center in the world. He was treated to a large room with two windows and was locked inside only at night. His meals were catered from outside, and servants were permitted, though Paine did not take advantage of that particular luxury. While in prison, he continued to work on The Age of Reason.

Paine’s imprisonment in France caused a general uproar in America and future President James Monroe used all of his diplomatic connections to get Paine released in November 1794. Ironically, it wasn’t long before Paine came to be despised in the United States, as well. After The Age of Reason was published, he was called an anti-Christ, and his reputation was ruined. Thomas Paine died a poor man in 1809 in New York.

Article Details:

December 28, 1793 : An American hero is arrested in France

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  December 28, 1793 : An American hero is arrested in France

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  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/an-american-hero-is-arrested-in-france

• Access Date

  December 28, 2015

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  A+E Networks

This Day in Crime History: DECEMBER 24, 1994 : ISLAMIC TERRORISTS HIJACK A FRENCH PLANE

On this day in 1994, four Islamic extremists hijack Air France Flight 8969 in Algiers. The terrorists then flew the plane to Marseilles with the permission of the French and Algerian governments, givenin part because French special forces would be ready to perform a rescue mission. More than two days after the terrorists took control of the plane, during which time they killed three hostages, French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur decided touse French commandos to put an end to the hijacking. In the ensuing mission, the terrorists were killed and the remaining hostages were released unharmed, despite the discovery of a cache of dynamite aboard the plane. Hostages claimed that the terrorists had discussed plans to fly the plane to Paris and blow it up.

The hijacking came during aperiod of politicalupheaval in Algeria that pitted Islamic rebels against the country’s military dictatorship. France, along with other Western countries, supported the dictatorship to prevent the takeover of the country by Islamic fundamentalist. The hijacking was designed as a protest againstthis support. The brutal Algerian civil war, which began in 1992, when the Algerian army cancelled an election that the Islamic party was winning, continues to this day. Although the violence died down to a certain extent in 1999 when Abdelaziz Bouteflika–who promised reform and end to the war–was elected president, fighting still breaks out periodically. Despite the resistance of Islamic fundamentalist groups, the army has maintained power. Over 100,000 people have died in the fighting, most of them citizens who were brutally murdered by the regime.

Article Details:

December 24, 1994 : Islamic terrorists hijack a French plane

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  December 24, 1994 : Islamic terrorists hijack a French plane

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  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/islamic-terrorists-hijack-a-french-plane

• Access Date

  December 24, 2015

• Publisher

  A+E Networks

This Day in Crime History: DECEMBER 23, 1984 : BERNHARD GOETZ GOES ON THE LAM

Bernhard Goetz, who shot four young black men on a subway car the previous day, flees New York City and heads for New Hampshire after becoming the central figure in a media firestorm.

On the afternoon of December 22, Troy Canty, Barry Allen, Darrell Cabey, and James Ramseur reportedly approached Goetz as he was riding the subway and demanded $5. Goetz pulled out a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver and shot each of the boys in response. He then shot Cabey a second time, severing his spinal cord. After refusing to give up his gun, he walked to the end of train, jumped onto the tracks, and disappeared.

Immediately catching the public’s attention, the case ignited serious debate and controversy. While the so-called “Subway Vigilante” was on the lam in New Hampshire, police discovered that three of the shooting victims had been carrying screwdrivers in their pockets during the attempted mugging and all had significant criminal records. Many observers immediately used this information as justification for Goetz’s behavior, congratulating him for standing up to the boys.

Goetz turned himself in to New Hampshire police on December 31. Back in New York, he was released on $50,000 bail while a grand jury was convened. Goetz was initially indicted on only three counts of illegal gun possession, but prosecutors were dissatisfied with the insignificant charges, and the grand jury reconvened in March. This time they charged Goetz with four counts of attempted murder. The victims also instituted civil suits.

During the criminal trial, which began in December 1986, Goetz attempted to persuade jurors that he had acted in self-defense. To this end, the defense highlighted the fact that Goetz had been mugged in 1981 and the accused attacker was charged only with “mischievous mischief.” Goetz was found not guilty on all criminal charges but was found guilty for violating one minor gun statute, for which he received a one-year sentence. However, in the civil trial, Goetz was ordered to pay a multimillion-dollar sum for paralyzing Darrell Cabey, although it is unlikely that Cabey will ever receive the money.

In May 1985, James Ramseur held a gun while an associate raped, sodomized and robbed a pregnant 18-year-old woman on the rooftop of a Bronx building, and in 1986 was sentenced to 8⅓ to 25 years in prison. According to the New York State Department of Corrections inmate search site, Ramseur served his sentence and was released in July 2010. Ramseur was found dead of a drug overdose, in an apparent suicide, in a Bronx motel room on December 22, 2011, the 27th anniversary of the incident on the No. 2 train.

Barry Allen was convicted for two robberies after the shooting, the first a 1986 chain snatching in the elevator of the building where he lived.The second arrest, in May 1991, brought him a sentence of three and a half to seven years for probation violation and third degree robbery. He was released on parole in December 1995.

After a number of minor arrests for petty offenses, Troy Canty was ordered to undergo an 18-month drug treatment program at a rehabilitation center, which he completed in 1989. He was later charged with assault, robbery, and resisting arrest in an altercation with his common-law wife in August 1996 but was not convicted and did not serve time.

Article Details:

December 23, 1984 : Bernhard Goetz goes on the lam

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  December 23, 1984 : Bernhard Goetz goes on the lam

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  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bernhard-goetz-goes-on-the-lam

• Access Date

  December 23, 2015

• Publisher

  A+E Networks