An increased amount of people will be eligible for a pardon for historical criminal convictions thanks to the new scheme soon to be put into place.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is due to announce a plan to “right the wrongs of the past” including the deletion of the wrongful convictions of same-sex activity. This means that those convicted of these newly scrapped laws can now have these removed from their criminal record with no need for disclosure.
While the ‘Turing Law’ two years ago, was a step in the right direction for legislation surrounding historic criminal convictions, it only affected less than 200 living people. A mere nine previous offences have so far been wiped, mostly focussed on ‘buggery and gross indecency’ but this upcoming expansion will see lifting on occasions of all consensual same-sex sexual activity.
For many, however, this advancement is too late, having already affected their adult life. These wrongful convictions have already been flagged up every time an individual applies for a mortgage or a job and even prevented involvement or membership in certain social groups and organisations. So why has it taken so long for this to come into effect, and is it enough to simply let people apply for pardoning?
