The rumblings over Alan Turing’s early 1950s conviction for homosexuality—and his subsequent harassment and suicide—continue. In 2009 former Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued an apology for the establishment’s treatment of the mathematical genius whose Bletchley park decoding efforts are said to have shortened the second world war. But a full pardon has not been forthcoming because, presumably, it would be a precedent that could open the floodgates for claims from still-living victims of bigotry and prejudice.
Now leading scientists, spearheaded by Stephen Hawking, are calling on David Cameron to do the right thing and issue a full pardon. As a proponent of gay marriage, Cameron has no real excuse not to get his ducks in a row for 7 June, 2014 which will mark the 60th anniversary of Turing’s death.
by Mike Evans, 14 December 2012