Back on May 25, 1895, Oscar Wilde faced a conviction of gross indecency, leading to a harsh sentence of two years of hard labor, the most severe punishment for his actions at that time.

Fast forward to 2017, Oscar Wilde was part of a significant group of gay and bisexual men who were granted posthumous pardons for their involvement in consensual same-s** relationships.

The renowned playwright and author had his criminal record expunged under a new initiative introduced by the UK Department of Justice.

This initiative aimed to pardon individuals previously convicted of s**ual offenses that are no longer considered illegal.

UK Justice Minister Sam Gyimah spearheaded the announcement, revealing plans to include a clause in the policing and crime bill to pardon around 59,000 deceased men who were found guilty of such outdated crimes.

Decriminalization of consensual s**ual activities between men over 21 occurred much later in England and Wales, not happening until 1967.

Scotland followed suit in 1980, with Northern Ireland finally decriminalizing such acts in 1982.

The Republic of Ireland did not decriminalize same-s** s**ual activity until 1993, following a 1988 ruling that declared Irish laws against male homosexual activities as violating the European Convention on Human Rights.

In a symbolic move, the Department declared in 2017 that historical homosexual crimes no longer illegal in the UK involving consensual acts with individuals over 16 would receive posthumous pardons.

While no specific names were mentioned, Oscar Wilde’s case stands out as one of the most prominent.

Following his 1895 conviction for gross indecency, which included evidence of him soliciting male prostitutes, Wilde served a two-year hard labor sentence in Reading prison.

Gyimah emphasized the importance of righting past wrongs by pardoning individuals convicted of historical s**ual offenses that are now considered innocent.

This initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to correcting injustices through pardons and the existing disregard process.

The announcement in 2017 came three years after the posthumous pardon of Alan Turing, a famous English computer scientist, by Queen Elizabeth II for his gross indecency conviction.

Turing, known for breaking Nazi codes during World War II, tragically took his own life in 1954 following his conviction related to homosexual acts.

In 2012, Lord Sharkey, a British Liberal Democratic politician, led efforts to allow living individuals convicted of obsolete crimes to have their convictions disregarded.

Approximately 75,000 men faced gross indecency convictions until the laws were repealed, with Sharkey’s amendment granting the right to apply for conviction disregard to the 16,000 still alive.

Following Lord Sharkey’s amendment, the new clause will focus on implementing blanket posthumous pardons for those who have passed away.

Sharkey expressed gratitude for the government’s support and the backing of parliamentary colleagues, acknowledging the significance of this decision for numerous families across the UK who have long campaigned on the issue.

While the announcement of posthumous pardons for unjustly prosecuted gay and bisexual men was welcomed by many, including Stonewall, a gay rights organization, some believe that more comprehensive measures are necessary to address past injustices.

Just 15 weeks after the debut of his renowned play “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Oscar Wilde’s life took a drastic turn as he found himself imprisoned in Reading Prison on charges related to homosexual acts.

This imprisonment marked a critical moment in his life, stemming from a feud with his lover’s father, the Marquess of Queensbury, whom Wilde had sued for libel following public accusations of sodomy.

Wilde’s confinement, spending 23 hours daily in his cell, eventually led to his death from cerebral meningitis in November 1900 at the age of 46.