Remember the " good thief"? ... no baptism/no good works/ no purgatory for his crimes... just a meeting with Christ in Paradise
If the suffering and death of Christ on the cross is insufficient.. then one has no hope
The RC replies to that range from postulating that paradise was not heaven, and did not exclude purgatory, to Jesus granting “a plenary indulgence,” or that the the suffering of the thief on the cross sufficed to purge him from his sins, or purify his soul.
Engwer notes that
Though various forms of justification through works were popular among the church fathers, we often see them describing the thief on the cross as an example for all believers. Irenaeus (Against Heresies, 5:5:1, 5:31:2) refers to all believers immediately going to the same Paradise that Jesus and the thief went to, not Purgatory. Tertullian speaks of the thief as if he’s normative (On Modesty, 22). Arthur Just cites examples of Origen, Leo the Great, and other fathers referring to how the thief was given Paradise as a result of his faith, how the thief represents the salvation of all people, etc. (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament III: Luke [Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2003], pp. 363-367). David King has drawn my attention to the following passage in John Chrysostom:
“Let us see, however, whether the brigand [dying thief] gave evidence of effort and upright deeds and a good yield. Far from his being able to claim even this, he made his way into paradise before the apostles with a mere word, on the basis of faith alone, the intention being for you to learn that it was not so much a case of his sound values prevailing as the Lord’s lovingkindness being completely responsible.” (Robert Charles Hill, trans., St John Chrysostom: Eight Sermons on the Book of Genesis [Boston: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2004], Homily 7, p. 123)
Commentators on Luke’s gospel rightly note that the thief’s immediate justification, upon placing his hope in Jesus, isn’t something unique to the thief, but is a theme we see over and over again in the writings of Luke (Luke 5:20, 7:50, 17:19, 18:10-14, 19:9, Acts 10:44-48, 15:7-11, 19:2). People are justified as soon as they believe, before or without baptism or any other work. The thief is an example of the rule, though a dramatic one, not an exception. - http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2006/04/every-christian-in-thief-on-cross.html
As regards the he penitent criminal, and apart from the idea i have addressed before, re postmortem expiation and purification, i see paradise as being Abraham’s bosom, (Lk. 16:19ff;) who could not enter glory because it is “not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” (Heb. 10:4)
But Jesus having opened the way into the holiest by His own blood, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, (Heb. 10:19,20) and thus the veil being rent upon His Death, (Mt. 27:51) the Lord “descended first into the lower parts of the earth,” and “led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,” (Eph. 4:9,10; cf. Jn. 7:39) he set those free in Paradise, which is now the third heaven, (2Cor. 12:2) which is why “the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Matthew 27:52-53)
The penitent criminal thus went to Paradise that day (versus soul-sleep) with the Lord, and then to glory.