The Scottish Government’s decision to release the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, on compassionate grounds has been hailed as “a brave political choice” by the Most Rev. David Chillingworth, primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Megrahi, 57, who has terminal prostate cancer, returned to Libya August 20 to live out his final days.
Megrahi was jailed in January 2001 for 27 years when a bomb he had planted exploded aboard Pan American Flight 103 over the southern Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988. The terrorist attack killed 270 people, including 180 Americans.
So 8 years served for killing hundreds of people and a heroes welcome. Surely he could have been discreetly moved to a quiet hopsital and looked after with compassion but under bars.
Had my relatives died in this attrocity I would be mortified. He hardly considered their final days did he?
Care for him, love him and forgive him- yes. Release him and let him off – No.
A friend of mine’s brother was killed in the bombing. I haven’t spoken to him lately, but I’m almost afraid to ask.
Not every unpopular political decision is “brave.” Some are just plain wrong, as was this one.
I think I would have been more prone to accept what the Scottish court did if the man in question had taken some modicum of personal responsibility and expressed regret. Instead, he returns to a hero’s welcome where he will do doubt spend the rest of his life in one of Ghaddifi’s plush palaces writing memoirs and inciting who knows how many copycats.
Life in prison is life in prison. This evil man especially should have lived out his days in prison.What was done was a travesty of justice.
I’m concerned with how Muslim extremists are likely to view this release. Will this make them more bold? Possibly. Will they call the West a paper tiger? Probably. Will it stop them from blowing more airliners out of the air? No. The Scots should’ve kept Megrahi until he died.
This is also one reason why I am hesitant to support an all out end to the death penalty because the simple fact of the matter is that no matter how much courts assure us that life in prison means life in prison, they have all manner of things like this to circumvent the finality of permanent justice.