Notable Private Prosecutions
- Oscar Wilde initiated an unsuccessful private prosecution for libel against the Marquis of Queensberry when the latter publicly accused Wilde of sodomy, which was then a crime.
- Whitehouse v. Lemon (1977) was the last successful blasphemy prosecution in the United Kingdom.
- The family of Stephen Lawrence brought charges against the five men they alleged had killed him (1996). The private prosecution was unsuccessful, one suspect's acquittal in the criminal trial was quashed in 2011, with a subsequent trial resulting in his and another suspect's conviction in 2012.
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Famous quotes containing the words notable and/or private:
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“I believe that what so saddens the reformer is not his sympathy with his fellows in distress, but, though he be the holiest son of God, is his private ail. Let this be righted, let the spring come to him, the morning rise over his couch, and he will forsake his generous companions without apology.”
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