Book "Manhunt" James L. Swanson

In answering this question, I have two approaches which can be used efficiently: Yes. Thomas Jones can be admired for his code of honor. But still, he broke the law by aiding the assassin and for this reason, he has to be condemned. When Thomas Jones helps Booth to cross the Potamac, he demonstrates an act of loyalty and sympathy for the assassin. One would wish to consider why this was laudable on the part of Jones: Booth’s cross-country flee was a painful one as he had sustained a fracture on his leg trying to skip the presidential box. A lot of endeavor had been mounted by the administration to capture him. It is because of this that Swanson sympathizes with Booth and therefore looks at anyone who dumped or betrayed Booth to be same to Judas. Thomas Jones therefore portrayed a strange behavior and was described in the book only as “an ingenious river ghost”. Thomas Jones is portrayed in the book as being a principled person. He was not easy to shortchange, hence he was not easy to trade for prize. He never asked for monetary gain. It is in this line of thinking that I would agree with those who term Jones as a Hero.
On the other hand however, I would still condemn Jones for aiding the assassin. Though he acted brave and endangered his own life by helping an assassin, he was acting against the law by so doing. If Jones were to be caught, he would be tried and sentenced as a criminal rather than receive heroic treatment, not withstanding fact that he even helped protect women and children from soldiers in the process.
Jones can therefore, be termed as a hero on one side ...