Episode 5 - The Final Pleas
There was little chance of reprieve, but one last desperate hope remained. James's wife, Elizabeth, began collecting names for a petition, in the hope of appealing to the King.
Read by Simon Russell Beale. Historian and MP Chris Bryant’s book takes us to the early 19th Century, when despite great political and social change and reform, British attitudes to homosexuality were more antagonistic than ever, and in 1835 two consenting adults, James Pratt and John Smith, became the last men in Britain to be hanged for sodomy. They were working class men whose poverty and lack of privacy led directly to their discovery and arrest and, despite a desperate campaign to save them, resulted in one of the great legal injustices of the time.
Read by ..... Simon Russell Beale
Abridged by .... Julian Wilkinson
Produced by .... Allegra McIlroy
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- Fri 23 Feb 2024 09:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 FM
- Sat 24 Feb 2024 00:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4