Britain has granted posthumous pardons to thousands of gay and bisexual men who were convicted of sexual offenses under laws that have since been abolished, the government said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The mass pardon, announced in October, became law when it received royal assent.
The policy is known as Turing’s Law after the World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, who was chemically castrated after being convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for having sex with a man.
“This is a truly momentous day,” said Sam Gyimah, a junior justice minister. “We can never undo the hurt caused, but we have apologized and taken action to right these wrongs.”
Lord Sharkey, one of the people who campaigned for the pardons, said some 65,000 men had been convicted under the now-repealed laws, of whom 15,000 were still alive.
Under the new law, anyone who was found guilty of consensual homosexual sex has their name cleared, and for those still living, the convictions can be removed from any criminal record checks.
Soon after the pardon was announced, The New York Times spoke with George Montague, a World War II veteran, entrepreneur, father, grandfather, Boy Scout leader — and criminal. In 1974, he was convicted of gross indecency under a British law that targeted gay men.
Mr. Montague, who called himself “the happiest old gay guy there is,” said he wanted an apology, not a pardon.
Britain has granted posthumous pardons to thousands of gay and bisexual men who were convicted of sexual offenses under laws that have since been abolished, the government said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The mass pardon, announced in October, became law when it received royal assent.
The policy is known as Turing’s Law after the World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, who was chemically castrated after being convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for having sex with a man.
“This is a truly momentous day,” said Sam Gyimah, a junior justice minister. “We can never undo the hurt caused, but we have apologized and taken action to right these wrongs.”
Lord Sharkey, one of the people who campaigned for the pardons, said some 65,000 men had been convicted under the now-repealed laws, of whom 15,000 were still alive.
Under the new law, anyone who was found guilty of consensual homosexual sex has their name cleared, and for those still living, the convictions can be removed from any criminal record checks.
Soon after the pardon was announced, The New York Times spoke with George Montague, a World War II veteran, entrepreneur, father, grandfather, Boy Scout leader — and criminal. In 1974, he was convicted of gross indecency under a British law that targeted gay men.
Mr. Montague, who called himself “the happiest old gay guy there is,” said he wanted an apology, not a pardon.
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