Interesting to note that the Justice Minister Lord McNally didn't consider a pardon appropriate, but the Queen eventually pardoned Turing after an outpouring of public support (and with the advice of the Government) [0]. (Turing was convicted for committing homosexual acts. Based on my cursory reading it seems like it was one of the reasons why he likely committed suicide. It's a tragic story of a great man, whom we all owe our gratitude.)<p>[0]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing#Government_apology_and_pardon" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing#Government_apology...</a>
I had never heard that he died on the 10th anniversary of the D-Day landings.<p>The code breakers at Bletchley Park, Alan prominently among them, are often credited with saving millions of lives. The reasoning is that their work make the D-Day invasion possible in 1944, and had they not cracked the codes it would have been delayed at least a year and would have cost millions move lives.<p>And presumably Alan would have been reminded and thought about the D-Day landings on the days before his suicide.
What would justice have looked like for Alan Turing for his war contributions? I'm tempted to say that we should have showered him with our highest honors, that Britain should have made him a duke and a billionaire out of gratitude, and he should have had drawers full of keys to the great cities of the world. But none of that could have meaured up against just leaving the poor guy alone to pursue his own thoughts and loves. And who knows what gifts to the whole world he could have returned from that.
Still time to donate: <a href="https://equalitytime.github.io/FlowersForTuring/" rel="nofollow">https://equalitytime.github.io/FlowersForTuring/</a>