Two Pitcairn sex offenders appeal convictions News
Two Pitcairn sex offenders appeal convictions

[JURIST] Two of six men convicted in October 2004 [JURIST report] for committing sex offenses on the small Pacific island of Pitcairn appeared in court Tuesday to appeal their sentences at the Pitcairn Court of Appeal [Wikipedia backgrounder] in Auckland, New Zealand. Lawyers for the two men say they were unaware that they committed a crime because they did not know that British law applied to the residents of Pitcairn Island [government website], which was originally settled by eighteenth-century mutineers from the HMS Bounty. Thirteen men were originally charged in 2004 for committing a wide range of sexual assaults against women and girls over a 30-year period. The appeal hearing is expected to last two weeks. AFP has more.

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THIS DAY @ LAW

Knights Templar arrested in France on false charges

French members of the Crusade-era chivalric order the Knights Templar, including Grand Master Jacques de Molay, were arrested upon the orders of King Phillip IV of France on October 13, 1307. The group was baselessly accused of multiple offenses, including idolatry and homosexual acts. The Templars would be tried for these offenses before being disbanded officially by Pope Clement V in 1312. Learn more about the Knights Templar.

Rosenbergs' espionage appeal denied by Supreme Court

On October 13, 1952, the US Supreme Court announced that it had declined to grant certiorari in the appeal of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, condemned to death for conspiracy to commit atomic espionage for the Soviet Union. Justice William O. Douglas eventually granted a stay of execution on June 17, 1953, but that order was vacated by the full Court and the Rosenbergs were executed on June 19, 1953. Learn more about the Rosenbergs' case from the Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Greenwich Mean Time established as universal standard

On October 13, 1884, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was declared universal time by the International Meridian Conference, a gathering of 25 nations from around the globe.
Read the proceedings of the International Meridian Conference from Project Gutenberg.