Lockerbie Bomber Freed?!?!?!?!?

[Tim]

Some or most of you may have heard by now about the bomber that was freed from scotland on "Compassionate Grounds". I made a post about this at my blog (http://blog.tctransporter.net/http:/blog.tctransporter.net/08/22/2009/admin/44) which includes more information about this. Also I got the information from Foxnews.com you can read their article by going here (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,541325,00.html).

So what do you think?

[DeKA]

well in general im against prison sentences for some kind of crimes and i would like to see the capital punishment in use, unfortunately many people dont understand what are the reasons of capital punishment and are misunderstanding it with simple revenge what is apparently wrong

in this case he is dying anyway so what the difference if he dies in prison or free, the bad thing is information noise about that and making a big deal of it

[Hidroncs]

... in this case he is dying anyway so what the difference if he dies in prison or free, the bad thing is information noise about that and making a big deal of it

Also 1 more bad. Now as he got free, and delivered home, he was welcomed there by some people as a hero :( . (Ofc i was not there, i only heard this in the news.) But if its true, then better if he die in prison.

[XmarksTheScot]

This is an issue im deeply ashamed of, i can only apologise on behalf of the Scottish justice minister to all the victims of this mass murderer.

By releasing this man he has not only gone against the public consensus of his own country but also made our country a pariah in the international community. There is now talk that the decision may have been made for financial reason ie to gain greater access to Libyan resources.

I can agree that he should not have been allowed to die in a prison but he should not have been released to go back to Lybia to be welcomed as a hero.

A similar situation happened recently with Ronnie Biggs (the Great Train Robber), Altho he was released in to hospital care to die. This is what should have happend to al-megrahi, once he became so weak he should have been moved to a hospice.

The welcome he received was utterly appalling and altho the Libyans had been asked to make it a low key return this just proves that they cannot be trusted as a nation and every country should take this as a lesson when dealing with them.

On a lighter note tho the current inmates in the prison HMP Greenock where he was being held have entered a stage of mourning after his release because the Libyan government had been paying for the prison to receive a full satellite TV package so the bomber could watch arab tv, and this allowed the other inmates to receive live sports and top movie channels. in fact when the bomber was announced to be ill the other prisoners held a candle light vigil when he was in hospital. They will be gutted they released him at the start of the football season :D

[Tim]

Well I rather that he die in prison or hospice like every other dieing prisoner as X stated. If other dieing prisoners can't get released to go see their family, where ever they are from, then neither should this guy no matter what is wrong with him.

[Ghost MacRoth]

Well, this is a prickly one isn't it? First off, he was tried, and convicted under Scottish law. Therefore, his release in ACCORDANCE WITH THOSE LAWS should not be an issue. Any criminal with a terminal illness and a very short time to live is released on compassionate grounds REGARDLESS of crime commited, or time served under Scottish law. The comparison with Biggs doesn't really count as he was subject to English law, which while similar, has many differances to Scottish law.

As for X stating that his release was against the wishes of this country....erm....I cannot see where you got that. Most people are, at best, a bit miffed, but will have forgotten by next week. Those who actually cared where those who do not believe Al-megrahi was anything more than a scapegoat. Perhaps he did have some involvement yes, but he did NOT do the job alone, yet once he was convicted, case closed, move on. There is a lot more to the Locherbie bombing than one man, yet we seem content to focus on him. I don't pretend to know everything about it, but I do know that several of the families of the victims of the bombing are not convinced they have been given justice at ANY point throughout this mess.

As for his ''Hero's Welcome'', yep, not right, but what do you expect? The Lybians where under sanctions for years, and their hailing of Al-megrahi is not really for him, it's basically a raising of the middle digit to the USA.

[Tim]

Well I get part of what you're saying Ghost, but is there any evidence he was the "scapegoat" or that he didn't act on his own? And honestly I don't care that he was dying, although sad, everyone dies so I don't see the point in letting someone out of prison when they were "Suppose" to spend the rest of it in prison, just because they have a terminal illness.

The upside to him being released means that the scottish don't have to pay for him in prison any more, tax payers that is.

[Ghost MacRoth]

There is not so much evidence he didn't act alone, just not enough evidence to be sure he did. ;) Some would say there is evidence to support that he was but a small part of a bigger picture, but the authorities seem content to dismiss it out of hand.

[BourneUK]

I drove past teh Lockerbie bomb site when i was visiting relatives the day after it happened, not a pretty sight. The man shud have been left to rot.. he was found GUILTY tht says it all... he shud be in a room 6x6feet with nothing but a bed an and a tiny slit for a window until he dies... but instead he is at home living the life of luxury as a national hero .... wheres the justice in tht.

[Tim]

There is not so much evidence he didn't act alone, just not enough evidence to be sure he did. ;) Some would say there is evidence to support that he was but a small part of a bigger picture, but the authorities seem content to dismiss it out of hand.

Well sadly politics plays a part in this, really ticks me off! :mad:

[XmarksTheScot]

Well the law of our land says that its is immoral to imprison up a terminally in person. The issue i have is how terminal he is and the kind of release he received. i have no really issue with him being released to die. but it should have been when his is too ill to be in prison, thus too ill to fly and so he would be moved to a hospice to die. but he was released into Libyan custody and doctors expect he could live for quite sometime yet so why was he released.... POLITICS plain and simple :(

[Ghost MacRoth]

Politics is why he was imprisoned, and politics was why he was released, Justice was truly blind in this case from beginning to end. ;)

[Tim]

I'm beginning to believe this more and more every day... sad really ... power hungry ... no good... -REMOVED(s)- :mad: