The tragic case of Alan Turing, the British computer wizard credited with leading the team that cracked Nazi Germany's Enigma code, may bring a final pardon to 49,000 men, 15,000 who are still living, convicted under Britain's former anti-homosexuality laws.

A petition posted by Turing's family on Change.org, which so far has garnered 533,944 signatures, asks the government to "pardon all of the estimated 49,000 men who, like Alan Turing, were convicted of consenting same-sex relations under the British 'gross indecency' law (only repealed in 2003), and also all the other men convicted under other UK anti-gay laws."

Turing, portrayed by actor Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game," which won the Best Adapted Screenplay award at the Oscars ceremony, was convicted in 1952 of gross indecency because of his relationship with a 19-year-old man, was chemically castrated and, two years later, died from cyanide poisoning at the age of 41, an apparent suicide, NBC News reports.

Hailed by Winston Churchill as the person who "made the single biggest contribution to the allied victory in World War II," Turing also is considered one of the fathers of the modern computer and, the Guardian reports, was granted a posthumous pardon by Queen Elizabeth in 2013.

An open letter signed by Cumberbatch and relatives of Turing states: "We call upon Her Majesty's Government to begin a discussion about the possibility of pardoning all the men, alive or deceased, who, like Alan Turing, were convicted under the UK's 'gross indecency' law (Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885) and under other discriminatory anti-gay legislation," Newsworks reports.

Turing's great-nephew Nevil Hunt, his great-niece Rachel Barnes and her son, Thomas, delivered the petition, and Barnes told The Guardian: "I consider it to be fair and just that everybody who was convicted under the Gross Indecency Law is given a pardon. It is illogical that my great uncle has been the only one to be pardoned when so many were convicted of the same crime. I feel sure that Alan Turing would have also wanted justice for everybody."

Peter Tatchell, human rights activist and one of the organizers of the petition drive, told PBS: "We do support and applaud the government for apologizing and giving a pardon to Alan Turing.

"But if his conviction was unjust, so too was the conviction of all these other men. And let's not forget, not only did they suffer convictions. Many of them were jailed. Nearly all of them suffered other consequences, like being sacked from their jobs, being evicted from their homes, the breakup of their marriages, mob and vigilante attacks and even, in some cases, suicide.

"So it was a very, very heavy price, and we believe justice must be done for all these men, not just Alan Turing.

"There's no doubt that the movie has already made a huge difference. This is a grave injustice and it must be rectified."

Watch the video here.

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