Portrait of Thomas Denman, Lord Chief Justice and politician, in his judicial robes. Denman played an active role in reforming English laws so as to secure individual liberties. In 1837 he carried two bills abolishing the death penalty for forgery and other crimes, and in 1839 he supported the Custody of Infants Bill which would give wives, separated from their husbands, access to their children. Denman's life-long work in aid of the abolition of the slave trade stands as evidence of his ongoing commitment to issues of social justice.

Portrait of Thomas Denman, Lord Chief Justice and politician, in his judicial robes. Denman played an active role in reforming English laws so as to secure individual liberties. In 1837 he carried two bills abolishing the death penalty for forgery and other crimes, and in 1839 he supported the Custody of Infants Bill which would give wives, separated from their husbands, access to their children. Denman's life-long work in aid of the abolition of the slave trade stands as evidence of his ongoing commitment to issues of social justice.