A Pardon for Alan Turing

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:

1. Accept that the prosecution should never have been brought,
2. Accept that the law was wrong and should never have been in force, or
3. 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 …