Imagine the reaction if a man honoured by his country for humanitarian work was then denounced as gay — and executed. The rest of the world would be in uproar. But this is pretty much what happened in Britain just 100 years ago — with hardly a murmur of disapproval.
Even in 1916 this was a travesty of justice. Roger Casement was Irish and allegedly committed treason in Germany. But the British government managed to have him tried in the UK. After he was condemned to death, the government discouraged an appeal for clemency by circulating papers that implied Casement was homosexual. His supporters backed off and he was hanged at London’s Pentonville prison.