Grant a pardon to Alan Turing...

I don't usually ask people to sign petitions but I'm going to make an exception in the case of this e-petition to grant a pardon to Alan Turing. Here's why...

In December I wrote a short post about the achievements of Alan Turing:

• The crucial role he played in the Allies victory during the Second World War by breaking the enigma code.
• His inestimable contribution to the modern theory of computation.
• His ground breaking work on artificial intelligence.
• His designs for a stored programme computer.

As some of you will know, in 1952 he was prosecuted for homosexual offences, his security clearance was withdrawn and he was chemically castrated. He committed suicide in 1954.

In 2012, the centenary of his birth, the UK Government has rejected a pardon that his supporters have been campaigning for. The Justice Minister, Lord McNally argued that the reason for this is because, "A posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate as Alan Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence."

Does this mean that a pardon should not be considered for anyone breaking a law, however unfair, unjust or immoral that law? On that basis, Lord McNally considers the following unpardonable too:

• Black slaves from the US who were punished for trying to escape their bondage in the early 19th Century
• South African civil rights campaigners of the 20th Century who were imprisoned for their actions
• Jews who had their businesses closed down under laws that existed in Germany in the 1930s

It's my belief that a pardon should be extended to Alan Turing and also to all those men who suffered because of this spiteful scrap of homophobic legislation.

So please, sign this e-petition to grant a pardon to Alan Turing. It's in large part thanks to him that we live in a country where petitions such as this one are allowed.

Today's run at 17:53
Distance	4.22 km	Time	23:51
Pace	5:39 min/km	Cadence	80 spm
Comments: Still. Cold.