Alan Turing receives royal pardon

What's Hot
Great news. About time too.

0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
«1

Comments

  • Bloody fantastic news, it has been a national disgrace for so long.
    One of the intellectual giants of our fair isles IMHO.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • agreed

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • chillidoggychillidoggy Frets: 17136
    Shame he can't come round and sort out my PC for me.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • bertiebertie Frets: 13564
    he was a dab hand with toasters too
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • chillidoggychillidoggy Frets: 17136
    There are some things that even he couldn't sort out.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    Well overdue. 

    His name belongs in the same breath as Darwin and Newton.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • About bloody time too.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Aye, long overdue. As is the pardon for all the people who were convicted under the same laws...that's highly unlikely, though (mostly because almost nobody cares).
    <space for hire>
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • BucketBucket Frets: 7751
    As Richard Dawkins said, "Pardon" implies that he did something wrong in the first place.

    Glad his conviction has been overturned, it's disgraceful that it happened at all.
    - "I'm going to write a very stiff letter. A VERY stiff letter. On cardboard."
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23962
    It's political bullshit. As I said on facebook:


    Unfortunately the vast majority of people don't know what a Pardon is. It is not the quashing of a conviction. It is the granting of forgiveness of a crime. It does not remove the conviction in any way. A Pardon actually confirms guilt but that he's been forgiven.

    For that reason I was (and still am) against Alan Turing being pardoned.

    Of course his conviction cannot be quashed either. He was convicted under an active law at the time, and his conviction met the requirements of the law.

    So in reality the only thing that would remove the fact of the conviction itself would be to allow the retrospective repeal of laws.

    And that would be revisionist history as well as jurisprudence suicide.

    Of course I am aware that it's only retentive lawyers that get upset about the inaccurate use of a technical legal term! But I would still prefer a full apology for that law existing in the first place.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 4reaction image Wisdom
  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23962
    Bucket said:
    As Richard Dawkins said, "Pardon" implies that he did something wrong in the first place.

    Glad his conviction has been overturned, it's disgraceful that it happened at all.

    The conviction hasn't been over-turned. A Pardon can't do that. 

    "Dear Mr Turing. You are still a naughty gay, but we forgive you and we let you off. The other gays didn't help defeat the Nazi's so we are not letting them off though. Yours.."


    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • GuitarMonkeyGuitarMonkey Frets: 1883
    edited December 2013
    Shame about all the other guys prosecuted under the same unjust law who weren't genius code-breakers though.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26460
    edited December 2013
    Bucket said:
    As Richard Dawkins said, "Pardon" implies that he did something wrong in the first place.

    Glad his conviction has been overturned, it's disgraceful that it happened at all.
    Strictly speaking, he did do something wrong - according to the law of the time.

    @fretmeister - given the structure of our legal system, is it even possible to retroactively repeal laws? Has it ever happened before?
    <space for hire>
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Bucket said:
    As Richard Dawkins said, "Pardon" implies that he did something wrong in the first place.

    Glad his conviction has been overturned, it's disgraceful that it happened at all.
    Strictly speaking, he did do something wrong - according to the law of the time.

    @fretmeister - given the structure of our legal system, is it even possible to retroactively repeal laws? Has it ever happened before?
    Since when was the law the true arbiter of right and wrong? That is ones own moral code. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26460
    edited December 2013
    Since when was the law the true arbiter of right and wrong? That is ones own moral code. 
    I said he did something wrong according to the law. As in, a crime.

    Besides which, the general moral code at the time was in agreement.
    <space for hire>
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Hertz32Hertz32 Frets: 2248
    A mass apology to all those affected by the law would have been far far better. Because not only does this imply that he DID do something wrong, it also implies that everyone else is still doing something wrong, and the govmnt stands by it!

    It disgusts me.
    'Awibble'
    Vintage v400mh mahogany topped dreadnought acoustic FS - £100 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ESchapESchap Frets: 1428
    Well, they only chemically castrated him to "cure" him; could have been worse, we still hanged people then ....
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Since when was the law the true arbiter of right and wrong? That is ones own moral code. 
    I said he did something wrong according to the law. As in, a crime.

    Besides which, the general moral code at the time was in agreement.
    I know what you said -  I said that the law is no barometer for decency. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BucketBucket Frets: 7751
    Bucket said:
    As Richard Dawkins said, "Pardon" implies that he did something wrong in the first place.

    Glad his conviction has been overturned, it's disgraceful that it happened at all.
    Strictly speaking, he did do something wrong - according to the law of the time.
    Obviously I get that homosexuality was illegal back then, but what a repugnant law that would have been.

    After all the amazing stuff he did for the government, they just completely betrayed him. It's awful.
    - "I'm going to write a very stiff letter. A VERY stiff letter. On cardboard."
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • johnnyurqjohnnyurq Frets: 1368
    A giant of the times and who knows what else he would have achieved if not hounded the way he was. But way way overdue.

    I realise it was different times but now looking back I agree that a pardon does not really cut it and it should apply to all others persecuted back then also.

    We cannot change the fact it was against the law but we can have the record show that it was wrong in retrospect for posterity and history.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.