The extraordinary true story behind New Zealand's most infamous career
criminal and prolific escapee.
Arthur Taylor is New Zealand's best known, most influential, and
colourful career criminal. A household name, he was paroled from prison
in 2019 after more than 38 years behind bars.
His life story is nothing short of remarkable. He has more than 150
convictions ranging from bank robberies to fraud, theft, escaping, and
having weapons and explosives.
He has served in New Zealand's most notorious high security prison,
Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, including eight months in solitary
confinement. But Arthur isn't what most people might expect.
Now in his sixties and living in Dunedin, Arthur is an engaging, highly
intelligent man who studied law behind bars and took on
precedent-setting cases against Corrections and the Crown, cementing
himself as one of the foremost authorities on prisoners' rights. He has
become, perhaps, a poster child for redemption and rehabilitation. He is
now an advocate for prisoners, and a bloody good storyteller.
During his time in prison, Arthur masterminded two particularly
audacious prison escapes including a weeks-long caper where he and three
others holed up at a millionaire's mansion.
He has shared cells with some of the country's most feared killers
(readers will come across high profile inmates such as William Bell,
Liam Reid, Scott Watson, Leslie Maurice Green and Graeme Burton) and is
responsible for one of the country's most bizarre behind-bars weddings.
His stories of prison life are entertaining, gripping; sometimes
horrifying.
This book is the story of Arthur Taylor's life, and a potted history of
the prison system, particularly prisoners' rights, in New Zealand,
including the work put into ensuring prisoners were given the right to
vote. It details Arthur's mistakes, his triumphs, and how he outsmarted
prison guards - screws - Corrections, and other officials, time and
again.
It's a warts-and-all look at prison life, and a no-apologies insight
into how the prison system can change you for the better, or the worse,
told in Arthur's own distinctive voice.
