Non Hollywood History of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow

This historical account of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker mentions the role the prison system had in creating the monster that was Clyde Barrow. Think of all the police and civilians who were murdered by this gang after horrific abuse suffered by Barrow while in prison for theft during the Great Depression. Dehumanizing criminals by police continues in 2013, where police refer to suspects as "dirt bags," and "scum bags." 



Parker with 1932 Ford V-8 B-400 convertible sedan.



Clyde Barrow in 1926, aged 16

[From article]
According to John Neal Phillips, Barrow's goal in life was not to gain fame or fortune from robbing banks, but to seek revenge against the Texas prison system for the abuses he suffered while serving time.
[. . ]
After Barrow was released from prison in February 1932, he and Ralph Fults assembled a rotating core group of associates and began a series of small robberies, primarily of stores and gas stations; their goal was to collect enough money and firepower to launch a raid of liberation against Eastham prison.
[. . .]
On January 16, 1934, Barrow finally made his long-contemplated move against the Texas Department of Corrections as he orchestrated the escape of Raymond Hamilton, Henry Methvin and several others in the infamous "Eastham Breakout" of 1934.[26] The Texas prison system received national negative publicity from the brazen raid, and Barrow appeared to have achieved what Phillips describes as the burning passion in his life: exacting revenge on the Texas Department of Corrections.
[. . .]
Historical perspective
Through the decades, many cultural historians have analyzed Bonnie's and Clyde's enduring appeal to the public imagination. E.R. Milner, an historian, writer, and expert on Bonnie and Clyde and their era, put the duo's enduring appeal to the public, both during the Depression and continuing on through the decades, into historical and cultural perspective. To those people who, as Milner says, "consider themselves outsiders, or oppose the existing system," Bonnie and Clyde represent the ultimate outsiders, revolting against an uncaring system. "The country's money simply declined by 38 percent", explains Milner, author of The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde. "Gaunt, dazed men roamed the city streets seeking jobs ... Breadlines and soup kitchens became jammed. (In rural areas) foreclosures forced more than 38 percent of farmers from their lands (while simultaneously) a catastrophic drought struck the Great Plains ... By the time Bonnie and Clyde became well known, many had felt the capitalistic system had been abused by big business and government officials ... Now here were Bonnie and Clyde striking back."


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Non Hollywood History of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow