Online UK Petition Circulating to Pardon Computer Pioneer Alan Turing

Alan Turing (photo from The Guardian)

Fate was not kind to Alan Turing, the British genius generally considered a pioneer in the development of computers and artificial intelligence. In 1952, he was convicted of committing homosexual acts, at the time a criminal offense in the UK. Rather than accept a prison sentence for his "crime," he took treatments with female hormones which were effectively a form of chemical castration. This bizarre, inhuman punishment drove even the brilliant Turing beyond the point of no emotional return. He died in 1954 from cyanide poisoning; the death remains controversial to this day, with some claiming Turing committed suicide, while others maintain his demise was accidental.

This stupid loss of a gifted man's life (Turing was a key figure in the Blechley Park group which cracked Germany's secret codes during World War II) went unrecognized by the British government until recent years. Some UK citizens are attempting to compel public debate about Turing's death; their goal is to obtain a pardon for the great scientist and clear his record of "criminal" activity.

To that end, according to online BBC reports, an e-petition is being circulated which would make the subject eligible for discussion in the British House of Commons. I hope the petition achieves the 100,000 signatures required for eligibility, and the British people right a terrible wrong done to one of its most eminent citizens.