St. Dismas: Radical 1st-Century Insurgent?

Abu Muqawama was reading the religion section of the Washington Post today:

When Deacon Ken Finn is counseling prisoners, he often tells the story of Saint Dismas.

"He was the guy crucified on the right side of Christ," Finn says. "He never took a course in [Catholic doctrine], but he gets to skip purgatory and go straight to heaven." ...

Crucifixion is too harsh a crime for thievery, Bock says, so the men were probably insurgents or revolutionaries of some kind.