Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Here's a worthy cause in Great Britain:
Thousands of people have signed a Downing Street petition calling for a posthumous government apology to World War II code breaker Alan Turing.Writer Ian McEwan has just backed the campaign, which already has the support of scientist Richard Dawkins.
And rightly so. Turing's story is both remarkable and appalling. His work laid the foundation for the development of computers, a development as significant as the harnessing of fire or the invention of the telephone. But during WW2, he was also the man largely responsible for breaking the Nazi codes and allowing the good guys to win that war and prevent Hitler from taking over.
His reward for that? He was prosecuted for being a homosexual, stripped of his security clearance, and subjected to chemical castration. He killed himself two years later. One of the backers of this campaign said, "With Turing's death, Britain and the world lost one of its finest intellectual minds. A government apology and posthumous pardon are long overdue." I could not agree more.
Politics
Comments
I agree with the posthumous pardon, I suppose, but to whom are the government supposed to apologise? I understand that Alan Turing has no living relatives, so it seems like a bit of a hollow gesture.
Posted by: Philbert | September 7, 2009 9:12 AM
Philbert,
You asked to whom the government should apologize. Apologies to the entire human race are fitting in this case. We are all damaged by this type of behavior by any government.
Posted by: Todd | September 7, 2009 9:26 AM
Philbert:
Great question. I would argue an apology would really resonate if it was at least partially directed towards the LGBT community at large. Even better would have been to tie this apology and recognition to some meaningful legislation that better defends the rights of non-heterosexuals.
Posted by: Michael Heath | September 7, 2009 9:28 AM
Hollow gestures are better than forgetting completely. This is way overdue.
Posted by: kehrsam | September 7, 2009 9:29 AM
There _is_ living family. Alan Turing's family remembers him well and they are still alive: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8238294.stm
Posted by: John Graham-Cumming | September 7, 2009 9:34 AM
If an apology is made it should be to everyone who suffered from persecution under these laws, not just one victim.
Posted by: Ramel | September 7, 2009 9:37 AM
but to whom are the government supposed to apologise?
How about all English citizens? Hell, how about the whole world? They took him from us, and we are worse for it. Guy was brilliant.
Posted by: kevin | September 7, 2009 9:38 AM
An apology is an admission that "what we did was wrong", and that still has weight and importance even if Turing is no longer around to hear it. It's especially important because not everyone agrees it was wrong -- there are plenty of people who think homosexuality is a sin, a crime, and/or a mental illness that needs to be punished or treated. An apology is another chance to try to give these people some inkling of the damage they are doing, and emphasize that the mainstream increasingly disagrees with them.
Posted by: Rob W | September 7, 2009 9:55 AM
@#5 - Clearly I was mistaken. Apologise away, government!
Posted by: Philbert | September 7, 2009 10:42 AM
I think that Rob (#8) makes a hugely important point (not that other people's points are unimportant, mind you). An official apology would be an admission that what was done to Turing was wrong, and would therefore be of value even if the people who wronged and the people who were wronged were no longer alive.
Posted by: valhar2000 | September 7, 2009 10:54 AM
@Rob: Yeah, but they're only apologizing to the useful and famous homosexual. All the rest that were persecuted during that time can go jump in a lake, it would seem.
So let that be a lesson to you, homophobes: If you're going to persecute gay people, make sure they're not useful to you in some way first.
Posted by: JThompson | September 7, 2009 10:54 AM
"Hollow gestures are better than forgetting completely."
I like that
Posted by: that_chris_guy | September 7, 2009 11:06 AM
This has been going on for years. While Turing is one of my heroes but I have mixed feelings over post-morten apologies in general. I, for one, think think they are a empty, pointless and distracting jester but there are people out there that seem to think they have value (as evidence by the comments here). If Britain "apologies" it doesn't change my feelings one bit or another regarding this tragedy as I don't "blame" the current British government for this.
Posted by: yoshi | September 7, 2009 11:12 AM
I can't agree with Ramel that apologizing to 'everyone' is necessary -- though it would be nice. But Turing was a special case, and his treatment after his service to his country would require apology from any government.
But if we are looking for someone else who deserves a posthumous apology, what about Walter Jenkins, LBJ's aide who was busted in the 'most famous tea-room arrest' pre-Larry Craig?
Posted by: Prup (aka Jim Benton) | September 7, 2009 11:21 AM
I signed the petition some time ago, when it was brought up on Pharyngula. Alan Turing was a hero; not only did his work help in the defeat of Nazi Germany, it also led to massive later advances in computer technology.
Posted by: Walton | September 7, 2009 11:55 AM
@14: I think Ramel meant that the government should apologize to all homosexuals who were mistreated by government anti-gay policies. I can certainly agree with that. Alan Turing was just one victim of it, although no doubt he's probably the most famous and accomplished victim.
Posted by: AL | September 7, 2009 12:50 PM
@16 Thats what I'm saying, Alan Turing deservers an apology no argument there. But what about all the others, why not Oscar Wilde? Why not the thousands of others made to suffer because of anti-gay predudice? It would be like only apologising to Nelson Mandela for apartide and ignoring all the others who suffered in south africa. The fact that Turing was a great man should not detract from the memory of the suffering of others.
Posted by: Ramel | September 7, 2009 1:03 PM
If you're ever in Washington D.C., make sure and visit the Spy Museum. It's relatively new (so try and go during slow hours) and has an entire "room" devoted to the code-breaking efforts at Bletchley Park and Alan Turing's work specifically-- including his eventual fate.
Posted by: Gretchen | September 7, 2009 2:03 PM
"No man is a prophet in his own country".
Funny how in England Turing is barely known, outside he's widely admired.
If I was going to give that apology; I'd apologise to Alan Turing specifically, whilst making it clear that he was just one example of an unknown number homosexuals who suffered because of past policies of the government.
And I would say that the government formally and publicly recognises that such policies infringed the basic human right of homosexuals to enter into consensual romantic and sexual relationships with any adult they wish, without any interference from the government. (A basic human right that heterosexuals would consider as inalienable.)
It can't, and won't, heal the wounds (both physical and emotional) of the past injustices, but it will provide another example of the English living up to their long tradition of equality for all, under the law. -DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | September 7, 2009 2:54 PM
Already signed it, and I must say that even if no apology is forthcoming (or in fact even if it is), this campaign will serve to keep alive the memory of persecutions against homosexuals that used to happen, and the memory of Turing who is sadly less known than he deserves to be in the UK today. Hopefully it will also serve to persuade the Government to look after Bletchley Park better than it currently does, although I'm not holding my breath.
Posted by: Alex | September 7, 2009 5:09 PM
to those who ask whom the british government should apologize to, my answer is not that it should be to the GLBT community, although, it will encompass them, but rather they should apologize to the whole world for taking away such a great mind for such petty and stupid reasons. they should apologize to the LGBT for the entire anti homosexual movement that turing got caught up in but with the loss of turing all of us lost one of the greatest minds of his generation. and any apology must be much grander in scope than just to the LGBT community. also, a more general apology on turing coupled with a specific apology to the LGBT community for the laws and practices that caused this i think serves to unionize both communities and shows people how intertwined they are. just my quick thoughts...
Posted by: Galen Evans | September 7, 2009 6:33 PM
@16, 19:
Apologies work best when they're concrete and personal. A statement that covers everyone you've wronged ever in a certain way is a statement of policy, not an apology.
Alan Turing is especially noteworthy, I think, because he was not just a subject of the crown, but also someone who served in an extraordinary capacity during the war, which makes it a special sort of betrayal.
Posted by: MPL | September 7, 2009 7:11 PM
Trafalgar Square is a centre of British culture. Apart from Admiral Nelson, looking down on it all from his column, there are three statues of other great Britons; General Sir Charles James Napier , Major General Sir Henry Havelock and King George IV. One of these guys might be mothballed to make way for Turing. Then, it is isn't even necessary. There is the fourth plinth with nobody on it, except temporary exhibits. Turing is the obvious candidate for the Empty Plinth.
Posted by: Hugh Caldwell | September 7, 2009 7:31 PM
I don't know that Alan Turing rates a plinth at Trafalgar Square. The days are long past when a single person won a war.
Apologies and a posthumous award, most certainly.
Posted by: Paul Murray | September 7, 2009 8:19 PM
@19: If you're ever in Washington D.C., make sure and visit the Spy Museum.
Do you mean the National Cryptology Museum, off the Balt-Wash Parkway at Fort Meade? We were there a few weeks ago -- a bit hard to find, but worth the visit if you're at all interested in crypto, or the Bletchley Park story (like, if you read Cryptonomicon).
Posted by: Eamon Knight | September 7, 2009 10:41 PM
Thank you for confirming what I thought I had remembered, Eamon - I started Cryptonomicon twice ages ago (I had read The Diamond Age previously) and thought that this all sounded really familiar (well, except for Turing's eventual fate, which was a shocking revelation to me in reading this post). Gotta love Neal Stephenson.
Posted by: Mr. B | September 7, 2009 11:32 PM
@25 the National Cryptography Museum in Fort Meade is fun, but there is also the spy museum that was built in DC about 5 years or so ago, a much more commercial venture near chinatown and gallery place. both are worth going to if crypto and enigma interest you. also if you liked Cryptonomicon you should definitely check out Anathem
Posted by: Galen Evans | September 8, 2009 2:25 AM
I signed it: I think it helps convey that Britain is a modern secular state* and won't support bigotry towards LGBTs.
N.B You do have to be British to sign the petition.
* Not like we have faith academies or anything : S
Posted by: Coryat | September 8, 2009 5:52 AM
Duly signed.
About time, this is a great national shame...
Posted by: noisebastard | September 8, 2009 9:57 AM
An apology and/or pardon is NOT the way to honor this great man. It is disingenuous to claim his persecution was his "reward" for his work. The two are not related. He was prosecuted for being a homosexual, not for being brilliant. To claim he is a "special case" means what - he was a special homosexual? Are the thousands of others who faced similar prosecution somehow lesser homosexuals? It his perfectly fine to acknowledge his value in the myriad ways it has and is being acknowledged. But an official pardon is a point of law. All homosexuals in 1950's Britain are still equal under the law. It applies to all, or none.
Posted by: Awfabee | September 10, 2009 2:24 PM