We mustn’t forget that hanged man

DILYS Rose’s novel Unspeakable concerns Thomas Aikenhead (16761697), a student from Edinburgh who was prosecuted and executed aged 20 on a charge of blasphemy (Speaking up for the hanged man, Books, March 19). He was the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy.

Aikenhead petitioned the Privy Council to consider his “deplorable circumstances and tender years”. He had forgotten to mention he was also a first-time offender. Two ministers and two Privy Counsellors pleaded on his behalf, but to no avail. On January 7, after another petition, the Privy Council ruled that they would not grant a reprieve unless the church interceded for him. The Church of Scotland’s General Assembly, sitting in Edinburgh at the time, urged “vigorous execution” to curb “the abounding of inpiety and profanity in this land”. Thus Aikenhead’s sentence was confirmed. So much for Matthew 5:44.

In October 2016, I wrote to Edinburgh City Councillors canvassing their support for a statue of Thomas Aikenhead, to inform or remind people of the brief life and circumstances of his death. I felt it would draw attention to a time in our history when the Christian religion was much more powerful and influential in our society, and its influence and actions were not always as humane as perhaps they could or should have been.

Doug Clark Midlothian