500 signatures reached
To: The Monarchy
Posthumous Pardon for Richard Lewis (Dic Penderyn)
To whom it may concern,
Richard Lewis, aka Dic Penderyn, was born and spent his childhood in Aberafan. He is also buried in the grounds of St Mary's church yard within the town.
Having been involved in the Merthyr Uprising and subsequently put to death by the authorities on the basis of a trial that is widely believed to be a tragic miscarriage of justice.
The Merthyr Uprising was triggered by worker anger with the terrible conditions at the Iron mines. Thousands of workers mined the iron and were paid a pittance, their living conditions were shameful. Demanding a living wage and improved living conditions in return for their labour there was a popular uprising, looting and riots. The army were called in and confronted the workers outside the Castle Inn. When the crowd charged, the soldiers began to fire on them, killing 27 workers. No soldiers died, nor was any soldier charged with killing the 27 workers, but Dic Penderyn was charged for allegedly having stabbed Lance Corporal Donald Black.
On the 14th July 1831, Richard Lewis, 23 years of age, was tried at the Cardiff Assize before Mr Justice John Bernard Bosanquet and a Jury for having, during the Merthyr Uprising on 3rd June 1831, stabbed Donald Black, then a Private in the Army, with the intent to wound, contrary to 12th Section of the 9th Geo 4 cap.31.
His trial lasted one day. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged in a public execution in St Mary Street, Cardiff on 13th August 1831. Thousands walked with his body from Cardiff to his final resting place in St Mary’s churchyard, Port Talbot.
Penderyn maintained throughout his one day trial and incarceration period that he was innocent, that far from being at the front door of the inn where the Lance Corporal was stabbed, he had in fact left via the back door and had been seen at the back of the building by up to two witnesses. There were also witnesses to the scuffle he had had with prosecution witness James Abbott previously.
Dic Penderyn’s last recorded words were: "O Arglwydd dyma gamwedd" (Oh Lord, here is iniquity). Just over forty years later a man named Ianto Parker confessed to the crime of stabbing the soldier. Thereafter a key witness at Dic
Penderyn's trial, Special Constable James Abbott, admitted to having lied whilst under oath.
Dic Penderyn was an innocent man and therefore we are seeking the full pardon of Richard Lewis, a “Martyr of the Welsh Working Class”.
This pardon should be granted on the grounds of the written evidence from 23 witnesses which would have exonerated him while Ianto Parker’s confession, James Abbott’s false evidence and the lack of recourse to appeal the verdict at the time are all important considerations. In addition to this, Dic Penderyn's trial was held in English despite him being a welsh-speaker.
We seek with this petition a full pardon bestowed upon the name of Richard Lewis by the monarchy of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Richard Lewis, aka Dic Penderyn, was born and spent his childhood in Aberafan. He is also buried in the grounds of St Mary's church yard within the town.
Having been involved in the Merthyr Uprising and subsequently put to death by the authorities on the basis of a trial that is widely believed to be a tragic miscarriage of justice.
The Merthyr Uprising was triggered by worker anger with the terrible conditions at the Iron mines. Thousands of workers mined the iron and were paid a pittance, their living conditions were shameful. Demanding a living wage and improved living conditions in return for their labour there was a popular uprising, looting and riots. The army were called in and confronted the workers outside the Castle Inn. When the crowd charged, the soldiers began to fire on them, killing 27 workers. No soldiers died, nor was any soldier charged with killing the 27 workers, but Dic Penderyn was charged for allegedly having stabbed Lance Corporal Donald Black.
On the 14th July 1831, Richard Lewis, 23 years of age, was tried at the Cardiff Assize before Mr Justice John Bernard Bosanquet and a Jury for having, during the Merthyr Uprising on 3rd June 1831, stabbed Donald Black, then a Private in the Army, with the intent to wound, contrary to 12th Section of the 9th Geo 4 cap.31.
His trial lasted one day. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged in a public execution in St Mary Street, Cardiff on 13th August 1831. Thousands walked with his body from Cardiff to his final resting place in St Mary’s churchyard, Port Talbot.
Penderyn maintained throughout his one day trial and incarceration period that he was innocent, that far from being at the front door of the inn where the Lance Corporal was stabbed, he had in fact left via the back door and had been seen at the back of the building by up to two witnesses. There were also witnesses to the scuffle he had had with prosecution witness James Abbott previously.
Dic Penderyn’s last recorded words were: "O Arglwydd dyma gamwedd" (Oh Lord, here is iniquity). Just over forty years later a man named Ianto Parker confessed to the crime of stabbing the soldier. Thereafter a key witness at Dic
Penderyn's trial, Special Constable James Abbott, admitted to having lied whilst under oath.
Dic Penderyn was an innocent man and therefore we are seeking the full pardon of Richard Lewis, a “Martyr of the Welsh Working Class”.
This pardon should be granted on the grounds of the written evidence from 23 witnesses which would have exonerated him while Ianto Parker’s confession, James Abbott’s false evidence and the lack of recourse to appeal the verdict at the time are all important considerations. In addition to this, Dic Penderyn's trial was held in English despite him being a welsh-speaker.
We seek with this petition a full pardon bestowed upon the name of Richard Lewis by the monarchy of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Why is this important?
Dic Penderyn's legacy has gone on to represent anyone who has ever been oppressed through the tyranny of greed. A full posthumous pardon would represent recognition of not only one man's innocence but also what those who fought and died for at the Merthyr Uprising of 1831.
How it will be delivered
In writing to the Ministry of Justice.
