James Pratt (1805–1835), also known as John Pratt, and John Smith (1795–1835) were two London men who, in November 1835, became the last two to be executed for

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''s ...

in England.Cook ''et al'' (2007), p. 109. Pratt and Smith were arrested in August of that year after allegedly being spied through a keyhole having sex in the rented room of another man, William Bonill. Bonill, although not present, was transported to Australia as an accessory to the crime, where he died. Modern interpretation has cast doubt on the facts and legality of the conviction. In January 2017, Pratt and Smith were among those who were posthumously pardoned by the

Alan Turing law The "Alan Turing law" is an informal term for the law in the United Kingdom, contained in the Policing and Crime Act 2017, which serves as an amnesty law to pardon men who were cautioned or convicted under historical legislation that outlaw ...

which pardoned those who had been convicted of criminalised homosexuality offences which no longer exist in the UK.

Biographies

James Pratt was born in 1805 and worked as a

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man ...

. He was married and lived with his wife and children at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

, London.Sources give varying ages for the two men. The account of their trial in ''The Proceedings of the Old Bailey'' states they were 30 and 40 years old. A contemporary newspaper report of their execution (''The Morning Post'', issue 20273, page 4) states they were 32 and 34 years old. John Smith was born in 1795 and was from

Southwark Christchurch Christchurch was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was located south of the River Thames straddling either side of Blackfriars Road. It originated as the manor of Paris Garden in the parish of St Margaret, Southwa ...

. He was described in court proceedings and contemporary newspaper reports as an unmarried labourer, although other sources state he was married and worked as a servant.

Arrest

William Bonill, aged 68, had lived for 13 months in a rented room at a house near the

Blackfriars Road Blackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark Un ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, London. His landlord stated that Bonill had frequent male visitors, who generally came in pairs, and that his suspicions became aroused on the afternoon of 29 August 1835, when Pratt and Smith came to visit Bonill. The landlord climbed to an outside vantage point in the loft of a nearby stable building, where he could see through the window of Bonill's room, before coming down to look into the room through the keyhole. Both the landlord and his wife later claimed they both looked through the keyhole and saw sexual intimacy between Pratt and Smith, so the landlord broke open the door to confront them. Bonill was absent but returned a few minutes later with a jug of

ale Ale is a type of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to bala ...

. The landlord went to fetch a policeman and all three men were arrested.

Trial and execution

Pratt, Smith and Bonill were tried on 21 September 1835 at the

Central Criminal Court A Central Criminal Court refers to major legal court responsible for trying crimes within a given jurisdiction. Such courts include: *The name by which the Crown Court is known when it sits in the City of London *Central Criminal Court of England a ...

, before Baron Gurney, a judge who had the reputation of being independent and acute, but also harsh. Pratt and Smith were convicted under section 15 of the

Offences Against the Person Act 1828 The Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4 c. 31) (also known as Lord Lansdowne's Act) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions in the law related to offences against t ...

, which had replaced the 1533 Buggery Act, and were sentenced to death.In the period from 1810 to 1835, 46 people convicted of sodomy were hanged and 32 sentenced to death but reprieved. A further 716 were imprisoned or sentenced to the pillory before its use was restricted in 1816. (''See: Lauterbach and Alber (2009), p. 49.'')The sentence of death was mandatory, but under the

Judgement of Death Act 1823 The Judgment of Death Act 1823 (c.48; repealed) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (although it did not apply to Scotland). Passed at a time when there were over 200 offences in English law which carried a mandatory sentence o ...

, Gurney would have had the power to commute it to imprisonment. William Bonill was convicted as an accessory and sentenced to 14 years of

penal transportation Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became thei ...

.Old Bailey Proceedings Online
(www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.0, 26 December 2012), September 1835, trial of JOHN SMITH JAMES PRATT WILLIAM BONILL (t18350921-1934). A number of witnesses came forward to testify to the good character of James Pratt. No character witnesses came forward to testify on behalf of John Smith. The conviction of the three men rested entirely on what the landlord and his wife claimed to have witnessed through the keyhole; there was no other evidence against them. Modern commentators have cast doubts on their testimony, based on the narrow field of vision afforded by a keyhole and the acts (some anatomically impossible) the couple claimed to have witnessed during the brief length of time they were looking. The magistrate

Hensleigh Wedgwood Hensleigh Wedgwood (21 January 1803 – 2 June 1891) was a British etymologist, philologist and barrister, author of '' A Dictionary of English Etymology''. He was a cousin of Charles Darwin, whom his sister Emma married in 1839. Early life We ...

, who had committed the three men to trial, subsequently wrote to the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all nationa ...

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

, arguing for the commutation of the death sentences, stating: Although Wedgwood was a deeply religious individual,Wedgwood later resigned from the a magistracy because he felt the duties were incompatible with the commandments of the Bible. he contradicted the prevailing view that gay sex was harmful. He also cited the injustice that only poorer men were likely to be caught having it. A rich man could afford a private space that would make being arrested unlikely. Even if arrested, he would have the resources to post

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

money, and then flee abroad.This had happened 13 years earlier in 1822, when Percy Jocelyn,

Bishop of Clogher The Bishop of Clogher is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and the ot ...

had been arrested with a soldier for having sex in a private room in a London pub. But despite the enormous public scandal, he was able to flee to Scotland and live there in anonymity. However, despite this degree of sympathy, Wedgwood described the men as "degraded creatures" in another letter. On 5 November 1835,

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

and the newspaper editor John Black visited

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

; Dickens wrote an account of this in ''

Sketches by Boz ''Sketches by "Boz," Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day People'' (commonly known as ''Sketches by Boz'') is a collection of short pieces Charles Dickens originally published in various newspapers and other periodicals between 1833 and ...

'' and described seeing Pratt and Smith while they were being held there: The gaoler who was escorting Dickens confidently predicted to him that the two would be executed and was proven correct. Seventeen individuals were sentenced to death at the September and October sessions of the Central Criminal Court for offenses that included burglary, robbery, and attempted murder. On 21 November, all were granted remission of their death sentences under the

Royal Prerogative of Mercy In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal prer ...

with the exceptions of Pratt and Smith. There had been previous reprievals of men sentenced to death for sodomy, such as Martin Mellet and James Farthing who had been condemned in 1828 but were instead

transported to Australia Between 1788 and 1868, about 162,000 convicts were transported from Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia. The British Government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. When ...

. But this was not granted to Pratt and Smith despite an appeal for mercy submitted by the men's wives that was heard by the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

. A petition for mercy was even made by the landlord and his wife who had been witnesses against them. Pratt and Smith were hanged in front of

on the morning of 27 November. The crowd of spectators was described in '' The Times''' newspaper report as larger than usual; this was possibly because the hanging was the first to have taken place at Newgate in nearly two years.Pratt and Smith were the only people to be executed at Newgate in the three year period 1834–1836; this partial, temporary moratorium may have been for political reasons and because of a change in the law. Prior to 1834, individuals had been executed for any of 20 different offenses; after 1836, only convicted murderers were hanged outside Newgate, until the ending of public execution in 1868. See ''A history of London's Newgate Prison'' The report of the execution in ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'' states that when the men were led onto the scaffold the crowd began to hiss, and this continued until the moment of their execution. Possibly this indicated the crowd's disagreement with the execution, or it may have indicated disapproval of the men's alleged acts. James Pratt was reportedly too weak to stand, and had to be held upright by the executioner's assistants while preparations were made to hang him. The event was sufficiently notable for a printed broadside to be published and sold. This described the men's trial and included the purported text of a final letter that was claimed to have been written by John Smith to a friend. William Bonill was one of 290 prisoners

on the ship ''

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

'', which departed England on 5 November 1835 and arrived in Van Diemen's Land (now

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) on 21 February 1836. Bonill died at the age of 74 at New Norfolk Hospital in Van Diemen's Land on 29 April 1841.

Legacy

A collection of contemporary documents, including petitions made on behalf of the men, and letters about their case are held by the United Kingdom National Archives. Both James Pratt and John Smith are central characters in the stage play ''Particular Disposition'', written by Benjamin Fulk. The song ''45 George Street'' by

Bird in the Belly Bird in the Belly are a Brighton-based folk music collective, consisting of alt-folk musician Jinnwoo (Ben Webb), folk duo Hickory Signals (Laura Ward and Adam Ronchetti), and producer and multi-instrumentalist Tom Pryor. History In August ...

tells their story.The final song on our Neighbours and Sisters album...
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Notes

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, James 1795 births 1805 births 1835 deaths LGBT people from England 19th-century executions by England and Wales Duos Executed people from London 19th-century LGBT people People executed for sodomy People convicted for homosexuality in the United Kingdom 1835 crimes in the United Kingdom 1830s crimes in London