Britain to wipe from records past convictions for consensual same-sex activity

Source: Washington Post

Britain to wipe from records past convictions for consensual same-sex activity

By Claire Parker
Today at 12:49 p.m. EST

Anyone convicted of consensual same-sex sexual activity under abolished laws in England and Wales will soon be eligible to be pardoned and have their records wiped, the BritishHome Office said in a news release Tuesday.

“It is only right that where offences have been abolished, convictions for consensual activity between same-sex partners should be disregarded too,” British Home Secretary Priti Patel said in a statement.

“I hope that expanding the pardons and disregards scheme will go some way to righting the wrongs of the past and to reassuring members of the LGBT community that Britain is one of the safest places in the world to call home,” Patel said.

Since 2012, people convicted under a narrower set of repealed offenses — including sodomy and gross indecency between men — have been eligible to apply to have their convictions disregarded.

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Read more: https://wapo.st/3mVSebS

Original WaPo link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/04/britain-pardon-same-sex-convictions/