Stephen Hawking Calls for Alan Turing’s Pardon
Stephen Hawking Calls for Alan Turing’s Pardon - Rebecca J. Rosen - the Atlantic
At the end of World War II, mathematician and early computer scientist Alan Turing was a hero. He had led the British in breaking the Engima code, an effort that was hailed for bringing the war to a close.
But not long after the war, in 1952, he was arrested for what was then a crime in England: his sexuality, or, in legalese, “acts of gross indecency between adult men.” He had a choice: imprisonment or estrogen. He chose the hormone treatment, which made him impotent and caused him to grow breasts. Two years later, he died in what is widely believed to have been a suicide.
In more recent times, England has sought ways to repent for what it did to Alan Turing. In 2009 Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a formal apology. But official forgiveness remains in the offing: Earlier this year, members of parliament introduced legislation to pardon Turing. Now, several of the nation’s top scientists, including Stephen Hawking, and other leaders have penned a letter to the Telegraph, throwing their support behind the bill.
They write…