Petition urges posthumous pardon for Alan Turing

Alan Turing / Wikipedia

An e-petition is being circulated asking the British government to pardon the legendary computing pioneer Alan Turing who was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for being a homosexual.

The petition comes just shy of the centenary celebration of one of the great geniuses of the 20th century who was driven to suicide at the age of 41. (Turing was born in London on June 23, 1912.)

Turing was imprisoned at a time when homosexuality was illegal in England. He was subsequently forced to undergo chemical castration and committed suicide by cyanide poisoning in 1954. In 2009, a petition convinced the then-U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown to publicly apologize for the government's treatment of Turing. That same year, Time Magazine named Turing as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.

This second e-petition calls Turing's imprisonment "a shame on the UK government and UK history."

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Alan Turing and the birth of modern computing

Among other things, it states:

"Alan Turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation he'd done so much to save. This remains a shame on the UK government and UK history. A pardon can go some way to healing this damage. It may act as an apology to many of the other gay men, not as well known as Alan Turing, who were subjected to these laws."

[rwsmith29456]

Turing contributed invaluable work to the war effort in breaking codes and on computers in general and was rewarded with disgrace for doing nothing. They should erect a public monument to him that acknowledges the ill treatment that lead to his his suicide.

[jemison4]

If you're reading this online, then you can thank Alan Turing. He is the father of the computer. The 20th and 21th century could not have been possible without his contributions. The world will be better off when we stop worrying what people do behind closed doors, and value them for their gifts.