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Pardon for Morant, Handcock and Witton refers to various attempts to secure a pardon for three Australian soldiers convicted of war crimes by the British military during the Second Boer War. Following four courts martial in early 1902, during the Second Boer War, Lieutenants Peter Joseph Handcock and Harry Harbord Morant, also known as "Breaker" Morant, of the Bushveldt Carbineers, 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. As part of an extended historical process (dating from the time of the original courts martial in 1902), and seeking to redress alleged injustices towards all three men, and to gain formal recognition that the verdicts convicting the three for murder, were, in each case, "unsafe verdicts", an 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 in October 2009. The British Government chose to not issue a pardon in November 2010 as there was no historical evidence to justify overturning the court martial decision. The Australian Government announced in May 2012 that it would not seek a pardon for Morant from the British Government as he and the other two men were guilty of killing the prisoners. == Major James Francis Thomas == In their courts-martial, the accused Morant, Handcock, and Witton were all defended by James Francis Thomas (1861–1946), a solicitor from Tenterfield, New South Wales. He had studied law at Sydney University, served as an articled clerk in a reputable Sydney law practice,〔(Public Notices: James Francis Thomas, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Thursday, 26 May 1887), p.2; ) (Public Notices: James Francis Thomas, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Friday, 27 May 1887), p.2; )〕 and had been admitted (unconditionally) to practise as a solicitor on 28 May 1887.〔(Supreme Court Proceedings: Admission of Attorneys, ''Australian Town and Country Journal'', (Saturday, 4 June 1887), p.14; ) (Law Report: Supreme Court: Saturday, 28 May: Admission of Attorneys, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Monday, 30 May 1887), p.4. )〕 However, he has never been admitted to practise as a barrister, and had no substantial courtroom experience of any kind. Thomas had previously served with distinction, with the rank of Captain in the New South Wales Citizens' Bushmen Contingent. In 1902, he was unattached, and in South Africa, and solely due to his experience as a solicitor, was suddenly promoted to Major and coerced into representing the three accused; despite having no experience of any sort of the theory or practice of military law, or of the role of a barrister. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pardon for Morant, Handcock and Witton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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