This probably shouldn’t be allowed to pass by without comment on this site.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25495315
Of course, on one level, this is great news for friends, family and the Computer Science community as a whole. It might also be seen as a small step towards righting a larger injustice (although it equally might not). On the other hand, a pardon is really a ‘let-off’ with a slapped wrist; “naughty boy but we forgive you”.
What it certainly doesn’t do is:
- Accept that the prosecution should never have been brought,
- Accept that the law was wrong and should never have been in force, or
- Offer anything for the tens of thousands of others, also victimised in the same way.
It’s doubtful that any of these will ever come to pass …
Turing's Radiator 