1959 conviction still haunts gay man seeking workFollow

He was convicted of a crime more than half a century ago, but what he did in 1959 — have consensual sex with another man — would be perfectly legal today.

So John Crawford, 70, wants his criminal record cleaned up for good, so that he doesn't have to disclose his conviction when he seeks volunteer work, and because of a deeply held belief that 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," said Crawford, a retired butler. "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."

Crawford's bid to clean up his record is backed by gay organizations looking to help others who were convicted under Britain's once draconian anti-homosexuality laws, which began 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"These laws were homophobic in the first place, that's why they were rescinded, but the laws are still penalizing people," said Deborah Gold, director of Galop, a gay rights group that has helped Crawford. "We've always had a regular trickle of people asking about it, how to get their records cleaned up."

She said Crawford suffered horrific treatment from the police and should not have to disclose his criminal conviction when seeking employment or volunteer work.

His lawyers wrote to Justice Secretary Jack Straw last week 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.

So John Crawford, 70, wants his criminal record cleaned up for good, so that he doesn't have to disclose his conviction when he seeks volunteer work, and because of a deeply held belief that he should not be punished for his sexual orientation.

He's retired, but he still volunteers.

From the article;

Anna,



At least i'm not fat and lazy.

Anna,

I always thought working smart was better than working hard. Obviously you feel differently.

I work at the office nearly 60hrs a week. When I'm not here I'm usually working on the garden/greenhouse, or reading, or exercising, or f*cking some insanely hot co-ed. So when do I get to be lazy?

"Working smart?" You are just spewing out cliches. You missed the entire point. You don't seem to understand that some people value their work and don't want to stop at an arbitrary age. Not everyone thinks that retirement is a great idea, or at least retiring at 65, which is pretty young. The retirement age in the US was set in the 30s. People live longer now and are healthier at more advanced ages. We really should think about changing our expectations in regards to productivity.

Cat,

By the time I'm 70 I hope to own a caribean island and have a host of servants attending my every wish.



Anna,

I didn't miss your point I ignored it, there's a difference.



And you don't seem to understand that business owners work as long as they want without worrying about being forced into retirement.

Just because the law was changed doesn't remove the fact that he broke the law in the first place. At most the record should be sealed so he doesn't have to reveal the details and eliminate the discrimination factor, but the conviction should stand.