Convicted as Gay – It Happened in 1959!
John Crawford is 70 years old, more than half a century he was convicted of a crime, a crime that no longer exists, for what he did back that, is perfectly legal today.
Back then having consensual sex with another man, which is what John did, was a crime, and now the 70 year old chap wants his criminal record cleaned up for good He wants to do some volunteer work, however that requires him not to have a criminal record, which at present he has.
He feels he should not be punished for his sexual orientation. “I came into this world without a criminal record and I’d like to leave this world without one,” John Crawford, whose a retired butler, said ”The police beat me and beat me and forced me to confess to being gay, but I know in my heart I did nothing wrong.”
John Crawford’s fight to clean up his record is being backed by gay organizations, who are also looking to help others who may have been convicted under Britain’s old harsh anti-gay laws, that started to be eased in 1967 as social values changed and sex acts between consenting adults began to be decriminalized. “These laws were homophobic in the first place, that’s why they were rescinded, but the laws are still penalizing people,” Deborah Gold, director of Galop, a gay rights group that has helped John said. “We’ve always had a regular trickle of people asking about it, how to get their records cleaned up.”
In response to a letter from his lawyers, police have removed the record of his conviction from the criminal database, meaning it will not turn up during a computerized criminal records search. “We are very sympathetic to Mr. Crawford’s concerns,” said a Hampshire police spokesman, “We recognize that this is an exceptional case and have acted quickly to resolve it.”
The spokesman said the conviction is no longer relevant and has been taken out of the Police National Computer database. “Until the police drop it completely, I won’t be happy. I’ve got to be able to put my hand on my heart and say to the world, I haven’t got a criminal record, and I can’t say that now.” Said John.
His lawyers have written to the Justice Secretary, Jack Straw a week ago asking that the law be changed so that Crawford and others in his position would not have to disclose their convictions during the job interview process.
Original text from:
http://www.gayagenda.com/2010/02/convicted-as-gay-it-happened-in-1959/
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Unfortunately, despite much talk on the part of UK police on ‘equality & diversity’ issues, police remain just as fundementaly HOMOPHOBIC as when the UK government report came out in 2005 stating homophobia was ENEDMIC within UK police forces.
UK Police ‘talk the talk’ of not being homophobic, but fail again & again to actually ‘walk the walk’ of NOT being anti-gay. The police stench of corruption, criminality, failure of duty of care, suppression of evidence, contribution to gay suicides, prejudice & discrimination routinely carried out by UK police still remains a sinister problem which both senior police & the IPCC collectively, are willing…and DO cover up!
In reality very little has changed in homophobic policing attitudes in the UK since 1959 against gay persons by the majority of police officers, certainly where I live in Cornwall, UK.