2013-12-24

Pardon!

So, the UK government finally pardon Alan Turning (BBC News) for his 1952 conviction for homosexuality.

This is just days after blocking access to LGBT web sites for most young people in the UK.
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8 comments:

  1. Cecil WardTuesday, 24 December 2013 at 12:02:00 GMT

    Pardon. wtf!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Owen SmithTuesday, 24 December 2013 at 13:24:00 GMT

      I don't understand what point your comment is trying to make.

      Turing was a genius of early computer science and also contributed greatly to code breaking at Blethley Park in WWII. He was treated very shabbily after the war and it is right that the UK government has pardoned him. Very belatedly, but better late than never.

      Delete
  2. Cecil WardTuesday, 24 December 2013 at 14:12:00 GMT

    Hi Owen, we are entirely in agreement.

    ReplyDelete
  3. baraktaTuesday, 24 December 2013 at 19:44:00 GMT

    Everyone who was prosecuted and harassed under the same laws Turing was should also be pardonned. It shouldn't be a privilege of the famous.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MrDremTuesday, 24 December 2013 at 20:04:00 GMT

    I have to say, David Allen Green in the New Statesman had the best take I've seen on this.
    http://www.newstatesman.com/david-allen-green/2013/07/putting-right-wrong-done-alan-turing

    ReplyDelete
  5. Alex BloorWednesday, 25 December 2013 at 10:56:00 GMT

    I think as most people have said, an apology or some kind of "overturning" of the verdict rather than a "pardon for the offence" would be preferable. A pardon, in some way, seems to confirm a crime. More to the point, it is one out of around 80,000 men convicted of the same thing. What about the rest? ... And so on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve HillThursday, 2 January 2014 at 14:35:00 GMT

      The reasoning I've heard for not overturning the whole law and pardoning everyone who was convicted is that there are still many thousands of people alive who were convicted and declaring the law unjust would invite large compensation claims from them all.

      This, of course, is a crappy reason since they probably are due some compensation for their troubles!

      Delete

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