Benedict Cumberbatch and Stephen Fry have written an open letter to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge calling on the Government to pardon 49,000 men who have historical convictions for being gay.
ALAN TURING was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 and killed himself in 1954 after serving time in prison and undergoing chemical castration.
The letter asks the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other “young leaders” to help with the campaign.
The letter printed in the Guardian reads: “The UK’s homophobic laws made the lives of generations of gay and bisexual men intolerable.”
“It is up to young leaders of today including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to acknowledge this mark on our history and not allow it to stand.”
“We call upon Her Majesty’s Government to begin a discussion about the possibility of pardoning all the men, alive or deceased, who like Alan Turing were convicted.”
In 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered an “unequivocal apology” for the way Alan Turing was treated by the state, followed by the Queen granting a posthumous Royal Pardon in 2013. The pardon describes Turing as “one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century” for helping to crack the Enigma code and says he was “pivotal in the development of modern computers”.
Campaigners believe the pardon does not go far enough and now want pardons for everyone convicted of similar offences.
The letter continues: “The apology and pardon of Alan Turing are to be welcomed but this ignores over 49,000 men who were convicted under the same law, many of whom took their own lives.
“An estimated 15,000 men are believed to still be alive.”
Turing was convicted under Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885. The campaign is being supported by members of his family still living.
His great-niece Rachel Barnes said: “We’ve always considered that it is totally unjust that only Alan was given a pardon. There were 50,000 other homosexuals who were convicted and not given a pardon. We would really like this to be put right now.”
An online petition has been launched with more than 60,000 having signed it so far.
To sign the online petition, click here:
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