John Gurney (judge)
Sir John Gurney | |
---|---|
Baron of the Exchequer | |
In office 13 February 1832 – January 1845 | |
Preceded by | Sir William Garrow |
Personal details | |
Born | 14 February 1768 London |
Died | 1 March 1845 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London | (aged 77)
Nationality | British |
Spouse | Maria Hawes |
Relations | Joseph Gurney (father) Thomas Gurney (grandfather) William Brodie Gurney (brother) |
Children | John Hampden Gurney Russell Gurney |
Profession | Barrister, Judge |
Sir John Gurney
Early life and education
Gurney was born in London on 14 February 1768 into a noted family of stenographers, including
Career
Two months after qualifying as a barrister he was hired as
Gurney later defended
In November 1835, he became the last judge in England to sentence a capital punishment for sodomy, convicting James Pratt and John Smith under section 15 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (which had replaced the Buggery Act 1533).[2] Modern interpretation has cast doubt on the facts and legality of the conviction.[3] In January 2017, Gurney's judgment was removed when Pratt and Smith were among those who were posthumously pardoned by the Alan Turing law that pardoned those who had been convicted of criminalised homosexuality offences which no longer exist in the UK.[4]
In October 1843, he ignored pleas for mercy and sentenced John Hughes (Jac Tŷ Isha) to 'transportation for twenty years' for his part in the Rebecca Riots at Pontarddulais, with seven years' transportation each for David Jones and John Hugh.[5]
Resignation and death
Gurney was noted as an independent, albeit harsh judge, and held the position for over a decade until he was forced to resign in January 1845 due to ill health, dying two months later on 1 March 1845.[6]
He was buried in a large sarcophagus-form grave in Old St Pancras Churchyard in London, to the east side of the church, south of the distinctive monument to Sir John Soane, and he is listed on the Burdett-Coutts Memorial Sundial. His remains were reinterred in the Western part of Highgate Cemetery in 1849, where his wife, Maria (1767 - 1849) (daughter of William Hawes), and other family members are also buried.[7]
References
- ^ Foss 1870, p. 318.
- ^ Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.0, 08 March 2013), September 1835 (t18350921)
- ^ Ryan, Frank (24 March 2015). "Pratt & Smith – Last UK men hanged for sodomy". Peter Tatchell Foundation. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "The tragic story of the last two men in the UK executed for being gay: 'Mercy could not be expected of men like them'". Pink News. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Derek Draisey, The Rebecca Riots within ten miles of Swansea (Draisey Publishing, 2010), p. 44.
- required.)
- ^ Cansick, Frederick Teague (1872). The Monumental Inscriptions of Middlesex Vol 2. J Russell Smith. p. 22. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
Bibliography
- Foss, Edward (1870). A Biographical Dictionary of the Justices of England (1066–1870). Spottiswoode and Company. OCLC 181068114.