How far we may come in compassion?
When the greater planet is long at peace
To reflect on a harm that sullied its grace
Concealed within plain sight is the truth
If there is a fate; it is lack of knowledge
That we, who fail to learn from events,
Are thus ever doomed to repeat them
Though one pardon does not excuse sincerity
It is still a hope, that in a small way
We learn that no matter our importance
If the world is against us in writ and act
People may fall short of expected greatness
And who now would wish to believe
That only 60 years ago ignorance held sway
But no law changes the incontrovertible fact
That to be human is to be in need of love
And who would not seek out its comfort
So perhaps he was the most human of us all
In his own way he fought an unseen enemy
In the peacetime trenches of unawareness
For he helped make a better, fairer world
Though he paid a terrible price for it
So they forgive him, but we never will forget
He was the
father of modern computing whose work on the Enigma code at Bletchley Park is
said to have shortened the Second World War. But he was also gay and in those less
enlightened times was chemically castrated by an ungrateful nation after being convicted
of “gross indecency” with a man in 1952.
Now, nearly 60 years after his suicide from cyanide poisoning at the age
of 41, Alan Turing has been officially pardoned by the Queen under the
little-known Royal Prerogative of Mercy. It follows a sustained campaign by
scientists, including Stephen Hawking, and a petition to Government signed by
more 37,000.
The pardon comes
after a change of heart by ministers who had previously insisted that Turing
was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence. A pardon is
usually granted only when the person is innocent of the offence and where a
request has been made by someone with a vested interest, such as a family
member. But Turing’s pardon has been issued without either requirement being
met.
Announcing the
change of heart, the Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said Turing deserved to
be “remembered and recognised for his fantastic contribution to the war effort”
and not for his later criminal conviction. “His later life was overshadowed by
his conviction for homosexual activity, a sentence we would now consider unjust
and discriminatory and which has now been repealed,” he said. “A pardon from
the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man.”
The pardon under
the Royal Prerogative of Mercy will come into effect today. Since 1945, only
three high-profile pardons have been granted in England and Wales under the
Royal Prerogative: to Timothy Evans, Derek Bentley and Michael Shields.