RantCrush Top 5: February 1, 2017

Over 50,000 gay men in the U.K. were posthumously pardoned for being homosexual.  The new law is named after Alan Turing, the World War II computer coder who practically ended the war by cracking German coded messages but never received recognition for it. Turing was portrayed in the recent award-winning movie “The Imitation Game.” Turing was already posthumously pardoned in 2013 after he was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for having a homosexual relationship. He was punished by chemical castration and committed suicide two years later.

BREAKING Alan Turing Law receives Royal Assent. Thousands of gay men are posthumously pardoned for ‘gross indecency’ https://t.co/fGEy3iSYOt pic.twitter.com/iEi9TasjGR

— Pride in London (@LondonLGBTPride) January 31, 2017

The new law will also pardon 15,000 living men who were found “guilty” of being homosexual. “This is a truly momentous day. We can never undo the hurt caused, but we have apologised and taken action to right these wrongs,” said Justice Minister Sam Gyimah. Though the move is a big step in the right direction, there were some who criticized the fact that it was a pardon and not an acquittal.

You don’t *pardon* someone for being who they are. These convictions should be quashed, & the UK Gov should apologise for the persecution. https://t.co/t7ZliOklBh

— Rachel Evans 🇪🇺 ✊ (@rvedotrc) January 31, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.