Great Britain has granted posthumous pardons to gay and bisexual men who were convicted of sexual offenses under antiquated laws that have since been abolished. The mass pardon, first announced a few months back, finally became a reality when a new law received royal approbation.
The policy is known as “Turing’s Law” after the mathematician and World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, who lost his job and was chemically castrated after he was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for having sex with another man; he eventually killed himself in 1954, aged 41.
Some 65,000 men had been convicted under the now-repealed laws, of which 15,000 were still alive.
Under “Turing’s Law”, anyone found guilty of consensual homosexual sex will have their name cleared. For those who are still alive, the offenses can be removed from any criminal record checks.
