"But the question remains: How accurate--if at all--was Edwards's portrayal? Was there, in reality, any political motivation behind James's life of crime, or was he simply a bad guy who served a symbolic purpose? Was he a hero of the downtrodden South, or was he the same person once described by Robert Pinkerton as "the worst man, without any exception, in America. He is utterly devoid of fear and has no more compunction about cold blooded murder than he has about eating his breakfast"?"