Alan Turing was the father of modern computing, he was also responsible for breaking the Enigma code thus probably shortening WW2 by a number of years. He was what can be classed as a true British hero.
Unfortunately he was wronged by his country. He reported a theft to the police which was ignored and he was convicted of 'Gross indecency' in 1952 for practising homosexuality with the young man who subsequently robbed him.
He was then forced to choose between prison or chemical castration which ultimately led to him taking his own life by eating an apple laced with cyanide.
The government have yet to pardon him of this ridiculous charge and if you sign this ePetition, this could become a possiblility: https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/23526
Chat Forum
Alan Turing Petition for Pardon
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Posted 5 months ago #
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Done.
A clever guy..
Good runer aswell.Posted 5 months ago # -
this blog post has some good points
Not sure I'd go so far as not supporting the pardon of Turing, but a wider approach would be better.
Dave
Posted 5 months ago # -
A bit late. He's dead.
A nice big statue would be in order though if there isn't one already.
Posted 5 months ago # -
this blog post has some good points
Also, his book is great, you should get it.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I have to disagree with the notion that it
would be unjust to the other gay men who suffered under the law
, the other people convicted of the same crime didn't do what Turing did for his country - see my OP.
The theif's crime was overlooked and he was persecuted wether it was within the law or not.an apology doesnt cut the mustard when you consider his contribution to both ending WW2 and modern computing
Posted 5 months ago # -
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/alan-turing-channel-4-monday-night
Sadly its to late for all his fellow homos, who where persecuted, or sometimes killed by thugs, and thugs are still killing Homos now, somethings dont change, but at least its no longer the state making the rules for thugs to use as weapons.
As for the statue of Alan Turing, there is a very nice one in the Peace Gardens the other side of the canal in Sackville gardens Manchester, opposite the univercity and Canal street, well worth a visit to read the plaque, and pat him on the shoulder to show your support.
Posted 5 months ago # -
While agree with your sentiments, Project. I must draw an objection to use of the word 'homo'. much better to refer to them as gay(s)
Posted 5 months ago # -
@highclimber
Not sure we have enough information to decide what contribution all the other people made. Given the period we're talking about, there could be a lot of war heroes in that group.
I'm not really into special treatment for 'celebrities' (poor term, but I'm using it to refer to people who are known to the general populous), like knighthoods for people who've been on telly for a long time etc. This is a sort of extension to that - it is a terrible injustice, that is for sure, but is it any worse for him than for all the others? not really - if it actually matters, lets get it sorted for all of them.
Dave
Posted 5 months ago # -
Done, without hesitation.
Posted 5 months ago # -
High climber, but at the time they where known as Homo,s or worse, Gay is a new term that has been chosen by the gay comunity, it was like calling union leaders comunists.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Personally I don't think our government's time should be wasted on such things. Don't get me wrong, Turing was dealt a massive moral injustice, but unless such a pardon is going to have a direct benefit to society now, then I think the government has more important things to be dealing with.
That said, the government should issue a pardon as a matter of course, shoon't even require a public petition. But seeing as how reading through it etc will take up time and cost lots of money, such things are less important than others for our society right now.
Posted 5 months ago # -
High climber, but at the time they where known as Homo,s or worse, Gay is a new term that has been chosen by the gay comunity, it was like calling union leaders comunists.
WTF are you on about, Project?
Posted 5 months ago # -
Signed without hesitation.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Elfin, diffeent names where attached to different types of peeps at various times,
Union leaders , whetre always refered to as comunists,by a lotof workers i worked with,
Personal peeps are now callaed Human resources,
and theres lots more re named groups out there.
Posted 5 months ago # -
The pardon should be for all convicted on homosexuality related charges.
Otherwise, to me this sounds a bit as if Turing deserves a pardon more than others on account of his work. There is no need for extenuating circumstances.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Elfin, diffeent names where attached to different types of peeps at various times,
so do you refer to black people as N***ers? that was once an accepted word!
Posted 5 months ago # -
There will be alot of people convicted of this and other crimes that are no longer on the statute books - crimes that now seem like anachronisms at best and offensive at worse.
But we shouldnt put our morality and laws of today on what happened in the past. It was a discriminatory law which is thankfully no more, but no amount of historical revisionism can remove the fact that the law was there at the time and Turing broke it. A pardon is IMO pointless and an empty meaningless gesture. If anything his conviction should stand as an example of just how bad things were back then and the progress made since in gay rights.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Turing was a genius and was persecuted by the society of the time. Fortunately life has changed and we no longer regard this behaviour as criminal.
However how far back should we go back - should be apologise for burning Joan of Arc? Let's accept that the past has happened, granting a pardon will not change anything - it won't bring him back to life, it won't make him a better person, a greater genius.
Perhaps the effort that is being spent by those on this could be spent on working with the youngsters of today to become the Turing's of tomorrow
Posted 5 months ago # -
The pardon should be for all convicted on homosexuality related charges.
Pretty much sums up my views.Otherwise, to me this sounds a bit as if Turing deserves a pardon more than others on account of his work. There is no need for extenuating circumstances.
He should be pardoned because he was convicted of something that should never have been a crime. That is regardless of his contribution to the war effort and modern computing.
So, should we pardon Turing as a 'token'? I don't normally like tokenism or gesture politics but I would understand the sentiment.
Posted 5 months ago #
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