Alan Turing Granted Royal Pardon

RoboCod · 24 Dec 2013 at 07:18

elmarko said:
Personally I don't see a problem with the idea issuing a general pardon for all historic victims of unjust laws. It's symbolic of cultural maturity & progress, an apology to the people for atrocities committed against them & hopefully a stern reminder for the future to never repeat it again.

I'm glad it's been done, but I can find any practical reason why the concept shouldn't be extended to others (it's not like they have to really do anything). It's a token way of the government as an institution to admit fallibility & for society to promote deeper thought on moral issues to ensue we keep our justice system on track.

Read my post. Sceptical side thinks it is money orientated.

deuse · 24 Dec 2013 at 07:34

TriedandTested said:
About time too.

SexyGreyFox · 24 Dec 2013 at 07:35

Turing's statue should be put up in every major city and a part of every Museum should contain the work of Turing and his team but no pardon.
It is hypocrisy unless everybody gets a pardon because the laws have changed.
What next, the Great Train Robbers told they would only get 5 years now so they can have compensation?
Turin was a God but for his time he was a naughty boy.

matthab · 24 Dec 2013 at 07:38

About time, it's a disgrace how he was treated.

Cosimo · 24 Dec 2013 at 07:48

TriedandTested said:
About time too.

AJK · 24 Dec 2013 at 07:51

Excellent news, 61 years too late but at least we got there!

Sliver · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:10

About time. He was a brilliant man who saved countless lives through his work.

Ryan-3 · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:13

Stretch said:
They should grovel. It was a disgrace.

zoomee · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:17

It overturns his 1952 conviction for homosexuality for which he was punished by being chemically castrated.

WTF!!!!!

Yaayuh! · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:19

I would say "About time too" as well. But it should never of come to this, it should never of happened. It's a little too late.

platypus · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:22

dirtychinchilla said:
Wow, I'm pleased! Not sure it's the right thing to do, but it's definitely great to see an acknowledgement of past mistakes.

Society has thankfully moved on, we've acknowledged we were wrong, I'm not convinced that a royal pardon for one man is suitable.

I agree with Peter Tatchell on radio 4 this morning. The "crime" was of the time, and I don't really agree that we should be pardoning one celebrity in the face of the fact that 50,000 other men were convicted of the crime as well.

TheMightyTen · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:26

People calling for a General Pardon thanks to this families of those who have died and those people who suffered at the hands of an archaic law and are still alive now have a precedent to appeal on. To issue a General Pardon would be to much risk for any government to take outright but with this high profile case the road to removing that blot from history has begun and hopefully with baby steps can be eradicated.

I'm pleased he has been pardoned and only wish that he could see how much reverence he is held in today.

platypus · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:27

Well exactly, he's waited 61 years for a pardon, whats another [20] when the last convicted dies?

ElliorR · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:38

About time.

I couldn't care less homosexuality was illegal back then, slavery was legal at one time as is stoning your wife to death in parts of the world today, an unjust law is unjust no matter when it happened.

platypus said:
......and I don't really agree that we should be pardoning one celebrity......

A celebrity? You compare a man who's work saved countless lives to the likes of Bieber?

Ascendancy · 24 Dec 2013 at 08:52

Isn't this essentially saying "We forgive him for being gay"?

What about all the other people they persecuted?

Schlong&Stable · 24 Dec 2013 at 09:20

What an utterly pointless act. Turing was a criminal and the fact his actions are now decriminalised changes nothing. This is an empty platitude from the government.

planty · 24 Dec 2013 at 09:22

Ascendancy said:
Isn't this essentially saying "We forgive him for being gay"?

I think most people will see this as a public apology for how he was treated, and I'm sure that's how it's intended.

I agree to a certain extent with this being a bit hypocritical for other people who were treated in the same way as Turing. This seems to me to be more of a symbolic gesture though - pardoning one man to acknowledge that the way homosexuals were treated at that time was completely wrong.

Whatever the reasons behind the decision, I'm glad they have done it. This man's life was ruined and ultimately cut short due to the policies of a country he was working so hard to save. Who knows what he could have achieved.

FunkyCowie · 24 Dec 2013 at 09:23

And in 50-60 years time Jimmy Saville will receive a royal pardon because despite having a criminal record after death he still 'did a lot of good things'

*heavy sarcasm*

platypus · 24 Dec 2013 at 09:25

ElliorR said:
A celebrity? You compare a man who's work saved countless lives to the likes of Bieber?

No I don't. Don't be so facetious.

Turing has become a modern celebritiy for all the right reasons, and not simply because of his amazing work; a gay and popular culture icon.

Schlong&Stable · 24 Dec 2013 at 09:33

planty said:
I agree to a certain extent with this being a bit hypocritical for other people who were treated in the same way as Turing. This seems to me to be more of a symbolic gesture though - pardoning one man to acknowledge that the way homosexuals were treated at that time was completely wrong.

It wasn't wrong to treat them that way based on the morality of the day though. Should we start rewriting our history books based on modern laws, customs and morals?