Episode 378: Fredericton, New Brunswick, in the sultry summer of 1949, was a community caught between the relief of peacetime and the tensions of post-war hardship. Along the margins of this tidy city lived George Hamilton (25) and Rufus Hamilton (23), two young black brothers whose lives had been fraught with poverty, exclusion, and desperation. These would be factors in the horrific actions they took, which would soon propel them into local infamy as the last men ever executed in Fredericton.

At the heart of this tragedy was Norman Burgoyne: a respected, 35-year-old taxi driver, decorated war veteran, and devoted family man whose sudden, violent death would shatter the sense of safety in the city.

Podcast Promo:
Brew Crime Podcast

Episode Sources:
Norman Burgoyne - Search - Newspapers.com™
May 20, 1949, page 8 - Daily Gleaner at Newspapers.com
Jul 27, 1949, page 9 - Daily Gleaner at Newspapers.com
Jul 27, 1949, page 1 - Telegraph-Journal at Newspapers.com
The O'Ree and Lawrence Families
Black New Brunswickers reflect on past and modern racism | CBC News
Black History Walking Tour
“bad characters”: The Execution of George & Rufus Hamilton in Fredericton, 1949 | Acadiensis
Last hanging in Fredericton
George and Rue
View of Grieving the Ungrievable: Negation and Recognition in Execution Poems | Borders: Undergraduate Arts Journal
Execution Poems : The Black Acadian Tragedy of George and Rue | Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS)
View of Whips, Hammers, and Ropes: The Burden of Race and Desire in Clarke’s George & Rue | Studies in Canadian Literature
Definitely not Butch and Sundance

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices