Turing pardon petition - Denied (and, what we should take away)

Alan Turing  - certified genius, was gay. Which most people could care less about, except that back when he was alive, being gay was illegal in the U.K. -  and he was convicted of "gross indecency". I won't go into details - instead I recommend that you read Andrew Hodge's excellent biography of Turing
Fast forward to now - the House of Lords just turned down a petition to posthumously pardon Turing, with the following reason

"A posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate as Alan Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence. He would have known that his offence was against the law and that he would be prosecuted.

It is tragic that Alan Turing was convicted of an offence which now seems both cruel and absurd-particularly poignant given his outstanding contribution to the war effort. However, the law at the time required a prosecution and, as such, long-standing policy has been to accept that such convictions took place and, rather than trying to alter the historical context and to put right what cannot be put right, ensure instead that we never again return to those times".

I find the last bit particularly worth emphasizing

rather than trying to alter the historical context and to put right what cannot be put right, ensure instead that we never again return to those times

History may be written by the victors, but it should always serve as a lesson to us, particularly when it comes to our baser instincts, and our tendency to judge those that we perceive as "different" from us.  Turing's execrable treatment (as well as the treatment of other gays and lesbians in that era) should serve as a reminder to all of us that we can do better, that we will do better...