Issue #31 Vol. 35, September 8th, 2009
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By John Morrison III

 Thousands sign Turing petition
Thousands of Britons have signed a petition demanding a posthumous government apology and knighthood for Alan Turing, the man widely credited as the father of modern computing science.

Turing also worked as a codebreaker during World War II and helped to decrypt the Enigma machine, a device used by Nazi Germany to send coded messages.

Years following the end of the war, Turing was charged with gross indecency after acknowledging a sexual relationship with a 19-year-old man.

Homosexual acts were illegal at the time and Turing was given a choice between imprisonment and experimental chemical castration. He chose the latter which led to depression and, two years later, Turing’s suicide.

So far the petition has collected more than 5,500 signatures.