Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the man convicted of murdering 270 people by planting a bomb on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, has been released from jail in Scotland on “compassionate grounds.” The 57 year old is suffering from prostate cancer and doctors estimate he has just 3 months left to survive. In an attempt to explain the out of the ordinary release, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill cited compassionate grounds, stating that Megrahi was being released so he could “[go] home to die.” “Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion available,” MacAskill said.

Arriving in his homeland of Libya, Megrahi received a heroes welcome with a large crowd gathered waving flags, throwing flowers and honking horns at the military airport in Tripoli.

The implications of the decision by Scottish authorities are significant: What kind of precedent will this set for other terrorists/criminals currently in jail in Scotland? What about in other countries around the world? There’s no doubt this controversial decision has angered many, but is it justifiable? Let your opinion be heard, post your thoughts below.

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Tags: Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, lockerbie, lockerbie bomber, pan am flight 103, scotland

This entry was posted on Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 9:26 pm and is filed under Terrorism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.