Pardons for Morant, Handcock and Witton

Pardons for Morant, Handcock and Witton, three Australian soldiers, were sought from their convictions for war crimes - the murder of several Boer prisoners-of-war - during the Second Boer War.

Harry Harbord "Breaker' Morant" (1900).
Peter Joseph Handcock (1900).
Lieutenant G.R. Witton, Bushveldt Carbineers (1901).

Following four courts martial in early 1902, Lieutenants Peter Joseph Handcock and Harry "Breaker" Morant, of the Bushveldt Carbineers (BVC) of the British Army, were executed by a firing squad of Cameron Highlanders, in Pretoria, South Africa, on 27 February 1902, 18 hours after they had been sentenced. Despite the court recommending mercy in both cases, Lord Kitchener confirmed their death sentences. Kitchener personally signed their death warrants.

Following the court also recommending mercy in his case, the sentence of a third brother officer, Lieutenant George Ramsdale Witton, was commuted to life imprisonment by Lord Kitchener. Following public pressure, Witton was released on 11 August 1904, but never pardoned.

An Australian military lawyer, Commander James William Unkles of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve, sent petitions for pardons for all three men to both Queen Elizabeth II and to the Petitions Committee of the Australian House of Representatives in 2009 but both governments declined them on the basis of insufficient evidence.

Witton petition

In 1904, a printed petition to King Edward VII was circulated in Australia, for signature by interested parties, requesting clemency in the form of (a) a pardon for George Witton, and (b) the immediate release of Witton from his incarceration. At least one copy of the petition, signed by thirty-seven individuals from the town of Colebrook, Tasmania, is extant.

In 1907, the publication in Australia of Witton's book Scapegoats of the Empire revived debate about the convictions.

Unkles' petitions

In October 2009, the Australian military lawyer, Commander James William Unkles, of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve, sent petitions for pardons for Morant, Handcock, and Witton to both Queen Elizabeth II and to the Petitions Committee of the Australian House of Representatives.

The first petition was considered by the British Government, on behalf of the Queen—"The petition argued that the convictions were unsafe and that their trial was unfair because the men were denied the right to communicate with the Australian government, refused an opportunity to prepare their cases and blocked from lodging an appeal."[1]—and, in November 2010, the UK Ministry of Defence issued a statement that the appeal had been rejected:

"After detailed historical and legal consideration, the Secretary of State has concluded that no new primary evidence has come to light which supports the petition to overturn the original courts-martial verdicts and sentences".[1]

The second petition was considered by the House of Representatives' Petitions Committee at a public hearing on Monday, 15 March 2010. Unkles appeared before the committee, along with others, including the historian Craig Wilcox. On Monday, 27 February 2012, in a speech delivered to the House of Representatives on the 110-year anniversary of the sentencing of the three men, Alex Hawke, M.P. described the case for the pardons as "strong and compelling".[2]

Roxon's rejection

In May 2012, Attorney General Nicola Roxon informed Unkles that the Australian Government would not seek a pardon for Morant from the British Government, on the grounds that Morant, Handcock and Witton did, in fact, kill unarmed Boer prisoners and others.[3] Roxon's letter to Unkles stated that in Australia "a pardon for a Commonwealth offence would generally only be granted where the offender is both morally and technically innocent of the offence".[4] Moreover, her letter stated that "Despite the time that has passed ... I consider seeking a pardon ... could be rightly perceived as glossing over very grave criminal acts".[5]

See also

References
  1. Malkin, B (29 August 2013). "Britain rejects pardon for executed solider [sic] Breaker Morant". The Telegraph.
  2. "House of Representatives: Constituency Statement: Alex Hawke: Speech: Lieutenants Morant, Handcock and Witton". Hansard. 27 February 2012.
  3. Welch, D (10 May 2012). "Roxon Rejects Pardon Bid for Breaker Morant". Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. Griffiths, Meredith (10 May 2012). "Roxon rejects Morant pardon plea". ABC News. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  5. Nicholson, Brendan (10 May 2012). "Pardon ruled out for Harry 'Breaker' Morant". The Australian. Retrieved 12 May 2012.

Further reading
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