This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jul/22/alan-turing-gay-rights
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| It isn't Alan Turing that needs a pardon | It isn't Alan Turing that needs a pardon |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The news that Alan Turing is to be "pardoned" for consensual adult homosexual acts (Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing to be given posthumous pardon; 17 July) engenders mixed feelings among his many admirers. His conviction was, in reality, a government crime. The UK government should be confessing that his chemical castration was actually a crime against humanity. A memorial to Turing and other gay victims of this state-sponsored persecution would be a more appropriate response because one can only be pardoned for a crime. Turing was not a criminal but a very distinguished victim of a legal witchhunt against adult homosexuals that showed no mercy – even to a national hero. Geoffrey McDade Montreal, Canada | The news that Alan Turing is to be "pardoned" for consensual adult homosexual acts (Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing to be given posthumous pardon; 17 July) engenders mixed feelings among his many admirers. His conviction was, in reality, a government crime. The UK government should be confessing that his chemical castration was actually a crime against humanity. A memorial to Turing and other gay victims of this state-sponsored persecution would be a more appropriate response because one can only be pardoned for a crime. Turing was not a criminal but a very distinguished victim of a legal witchhunt against adult homosexuals that showed no mercy – even to a national hero. Geoffrey McDade Montreal, Canada |
| • How about a pardon for the 48,999 other gay men, now dead, who were convicted under the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act? Pardoning just one man because of his "outstanding achievements" implies that the others are not worthy of a pardon. Surely the rationale is that the act was unjust and that gay men were inappropriately criminalised. This was true for all the men and not just for Alan Turing. Rosetta Delisle London | • How about a pardon for the 48,999 other gay men, now dead, who were convicted under the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act? Pardoning just one man because of his "outstanding achievements" implies that the others are not worthy of a pardon. Surely the rationale is that the act was unjust and that gay men were inappropriately criminalised. This was true for all the men and not just for Alan Turing. Rosetta Delisle London |
| • A simple amendment to the Alan Turing (statutory pardon) bill could extend it to all those traduced by the 1885 legislation. I'm not normally in favour of rewriting history, but this is surely one occasion when justice should be comprehensively done. Henry Malt Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire | • A simple amendment to the Alan Turing (statutory pardon) bill could extend it to all those traduced by the 1885 legislation. I'm not normally in favour of rewriting history, but this is surely one occasion when justice should be comprehensively done. Henry Malt Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire |
| • You report that the government is allowing parliament to decide on Alan Turing's pardon "in whatever way its conscience dictates". Interesting to note that the dictates of conscience are an exception in parliament, and then only with permission. Donald Simpson Rochdale | • You report that the government is allowing parliament to decide on Alan Turing's pardon "in whatever way its conscience dictates". Interesting to note that the dictates of conscience are an exception in parliament, and then only with permission. Donald Simpson Rochdale |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. | |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday. |