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Terminally ill Lockerbie bomber released

tlmorg02

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Terminally ill Lockerbie bomber released - CNN.com

GREENOCK, Scotland (CNN) -- The man convicted of murdering 270 people by blowing Pan Am flight 103 out of the sky above the Scottish town of Lockerbie two decades ago was on his way home to Libya on Thursday after authorities set him free.


Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, now 57, is suffering from terminal prostate cancer.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill ordered al Megrahi's release on compassionate grounds, saying he will be "going home to die."

"Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion available," MacAskill said. "Our beliefs dictate that justice be served but mercy be shown."

Ok, I lean on the liberal side, but this is killing me. This guy killed 270 people as a terrorist and they are "showing him mercy," because he has a terminal illness!!!!!? That's karma bitch! He should have rotted and died in prison. Thoughts?
 
I don't get it. They are letting him out so he can be with his family for his final days. What about all the people he killed? Their families have lost them forever.
 
if he doesn't die in prison, then justice was NOT imposed.
 
Another example of the oh-so-known European bizarreness.
They have lost all of their morals and their definition of justice is simply screwed up.
 
Another example of the oh-so-known European bizarreness.
They have lost all of their morals and their definition of justice is simply screwed up.
i can't go that far......i don't think morals have anything to do with this case. it is bizarre, though.
 
i can't go that far......i don't think morals have anything to do with this case. it is bizarre, though.
Oh but they do.
They've released him because he was ill.
A poor, ill, terrorist, who's only wish is to see his family again.
 
I'd like to make this very very clear.

This is all on Scotland and its 'SNP'. Not United Kingdom and most certaintley not Westminister.
It was the Scottish Govt. who made this foolish decision.

As to the OP?
He should have died in jail.
 
Terminally ill Lockerbie bomber released - CNN.com

Ok, I lean on the liberal side, but this is killing me. This guy killed 270 people as a terrorist and they are "showing him mercy," because he has a terminal illness!!!!!? That's karma bitch! He should have rotted and died in prison. Thoughts?

It is outrageous; but alas, it is also the world we live in these days. It's the Alice in Wonderland world where up is down, down is up, right is wrong and wrong is right and where mercy is shown to those who would gleefully murder the ones showing them mercy without any remorse.

It is stunning, but hardly surprising. It happens every day here in the USA when judges in the compassionate emotional state release criminals with long predatory histories to once more prey on society.

Soto Mayer has not disappointed the Leftist loonies; she voted with the minority recently in a thug’s efforts to delay his execution. Fortunately, logical heads prevailed thanks to Bush and his appointments.
 
I'd like to make this very very clear.

This is all on Scotland and its 'SNP'. Not United Kingdom and most certaintley not Westminister.
It was the Scottish Govt. who made this foolish decision.

As to the OP?
He should have died in jail.

The original stalwart defender of Megrahi in Scotland was Tam Dalyell.
 
The original stalwart defender of Megrahi in Scotland was Tam Dalyell.

It doesn't take away from the fact this was not a British decision.
This was a Scottish one. They could have kept him locked up but chose not to.
 
Another example of the oh-so-known European bizarreness.
They have lost all of their morals and their definition of justice is simply screwed up.

So you are blaming all "the European's" over the actions of a local government in Scotland? Talk about shooting an ant with a nuclear bomb...
 
So you are blaming all "the European's" over the actions of a local government in Scotland? Talk about shooting an ant with a nuclear bomb...

Indeed.

Can we blame the stupidness of Scotland not Europe please?
 
So you are blaming all "the European's" over the actions of a local government in Scotland? Talk about shooting an ant with a nuclear bomb...
The ant is simply part of the queen.
 
It doesn't take away from the fact this was not a British decision.
This was a Scottish one. They could have kept him locked up but chose not to.

I am aware of the devolution of justice matters to Holyrood.

My point was that doubts about Megrahi's guilt cross party lines in Britain. A Labour government could easily have reached the same decision.
 
A Labour government could easily have reached the same decision.

I highly highly doubt it.

Labour is all big on the "special relationship"
Why do you think we distanced ourselves away from Scotland's decision. No politican has commented it, Brown is in Scotland and i do not think he has said a word. I hope it does not affect the rest of us.
 
compassion (however misguided) does not equal morality.
 
he stood trial and was convicted? was his case reviewed? do you believe he's innocent?
 
I highly highly doubt it.

Labour is all big on the "special relationship"
Why do you think we distanced ourselves away from Scotland's decision. No politican has commented it, Brown is in Scotland and i do not think he has said a word. I hope it does not affect the rest of us.

Tam Dalyell has said plenty about it in the past. Amongst Labour rank and file there has always been huge doubts about Megrahi's guilt, there is huge doubt from pretty much anyone who has looked at the case!

The UK/Scotland - USA relationship is not going to be affected. In fact the SNP governments Homecoming campaign has focused heavily on the USA and promoting ties with Scotland. Hillary is a former Senator from New York where a lot of the victims are from, politically speaking she has to condemn this decision, I have my suspicions about her sincerity. Especially as she might now be in a position to know the full details about Lockerbie.
 
Many of the British families don't believe he's really guilty.
What they believe or do not believe has nothing to do with him being a convicted terrorist who killed 270 human beings.
This monster should have rotted in jail for the rest of his life, I feel sorry for the victims and the injustice that has been done to them.
 
What they believe or do not believe has nothing to do with him being a convicted terrorist who killed 270 human beings.
This monster should have rotted in jail for the rest of his life, I feel sorry for the victims and the injustice that has been done to them.

My sympathy for the victims stems from the way we have let those who are really responsible for this crime slide away. And have, instead, locked up a man who was, at worst, a pawn in a much larger plot.
 
My sympathy for the victims stems from the way we have let those who are really responsible for this crime slide away. And have, instead, locked up a man who was, at worst, a pawn in a much larger plot.
Slainte,

I wish to remind you that al-Megrahi was never acquitted.
He was convicted with the murder of 270 innocents.
As far as the definition goes, Megrahi has indeed done it.
You may complain about the justice system not always being right, but by no sense at all can you call a convicted person an innocent, and certainly not one with so much blood on his hands.

Scotland has released a man that killed 270 innocents, in a show of mercy for the monster's illness.
This directly hurts the victims of the Lockerbie bombings and society's right to justice.

I can only hope that the cancer would slay this monster, slowly.
 
You may complain about the justice system not always being right, but by no sense at all can you call a convicted person an innocent, and certainly not one with so much blood on his hands.

Megrahi was a Libyan spy and I have no doubt that he engaged in questionable activities in his life. He was also one of a relatively small number of people in the world with the motive and ability to do such a thing. However, having followed the history of the case, I have yet to see any strong evidence that he was responsible for destroying Pan Am flight 103. Virtually the entire case against Megrahi rested on a man who the head of the prosecution would later describe as "not the full shilling" or even "a few apples short of a picnic".

Originally in fact, Palestinian and Iranian groups were believed to be the most likely culprits. I still do not understand why the thinking suddenly turned towards Libya, however it did and two suspects were singled out, one of which was acquitted of all charges. Politically, I believe that acquitting Megrahi as well would have been unacceptable.

Megrahi's first appeal was actually rejected because it appealed on the wrong grounds, the second appeal, which went into much more depth, was never concluded and now looks very likely to be dropped as part of a deal to bring his release and closure to the issue.

That is not justice, it is a sham, an easy way to forget a horrific crime which has now became politically inconvenient. The only good I can see is that a man who may not have done anything and at worst was acting under orders from much more heinous people, will die with his family and not in a jail cell.
 
Ok, I lean on the liberal side, but this is killing me. This guy killed 270 people as a terrorist and they are "showing him mercy," because he has a terminal illness!!!!!? That's karma bitch! He should have rotted and died in prison. Thoughts?

He should have been shown exactly the degree of mercy that he showed his victims, and not even the tiniest bit more.

**** that piece of ****.
 
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