British government reconsiders 1916 execution

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to consider new submissions in a case brought by the family of a First World War British soldier who was shot at dawn for cowardice, a judge ruled Monday.
Lawyers for the family of Private Harry Farr, who was executed in October 1916, argued at England's High Court that the 26-year-old was suffering from shell shock at the time and should not have been put to death.
They have previously tried and failed to secure a full, posthumous pardon for the soldier from both the MoD and the courts on the grounds that he was "morally and technically innocent" of "cowardice in the face of the enemy".
But they were given hope last May when a judge said there was "room for argument" that they had been wrongly refused a conditional posthumous pardon.
Britain executed 307 British and Commonwealth soldiers during the war for offences ranging from desertion and cowardice to casting away arms, although in many cases they were later found to have been unjustly tried.
It is now thought that many of those shot for cowardice were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after enduring months of artillery bombardment in the trenches.
After hearing legal arguments Monday from Jonathan Crow, representing Defence Secretary John Reid, Judge Paul Walker agreed the case should be adjourned for the MoD to consider the submissions.
Crow said the minister was keeping an "open mind" about the case and would welcome any fresh representation from the family.
The court heard there was now a lack of evidence of the full facts which led to the death sentence being imposed and the soldier's psychiatric state at the time.
Farr, who served with the First Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, was evacuated to Boulogne, northern France, on May 11 1915, with shell shock and treated for five months.
He reported sick with nerves again on July 22 1916 and in the six weeks before his court martial asked for leave of his duties and return to camp three times.
On September 17 1916, Farr reported sick again and refused to go to the trenches. He told his superiors he could not stand the noise of artillery and was reported as trembling and not in a fit state.
He was shot, without a blindfold, after being found guilty of "misbehaving before the enemy in such a manner as to show cowardice".