Lockerbie release  | |  Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, aka the Lockerbie bomber, is most probably going to be released and returned to Libya to die. He has little time left, having suffered from cancer for several years now.
What intrigues me is why do British and US opinions vary so completely on this subject?
In Britain, most people have grave doubts over his conviction. Yes, he was known to the British Secret Services but as an individual involved in Sanction-busting for the Libyan government, not as a terrorist. That said, he was convicted and that is a matter of record. Again, the majority here, possibly because of these doubts, believe that his release will be a humane and justified act by a western government (the Scottish one) befitting the UKs moral beliefs.
In America, however, views are very different, with the majority believing that he should rot in prison. Fair enough, many US citizens were killed, including a number of young students from Syracuse. I have not yet heard any American citizens ask why the US government officers from Russia, several soldiers returning home to the USA and a couple of wealthy businessmen, all of whom were booked onto the flight, never boarded the plane. Coincidences can happen, but I feel that these are just too many people for it to be coincidence. Is it right for the US government to cherry pick who should die and who should not? Is a rich businessman worth more than a young student, who could be the next Gandhi, Hawkings or Obama? It seems very apparent that the US authorities were aware of an extreme risk to this particular flight. Wouldn't the vitriol that is often directed at al-Megrahi be better directed at the authorities for two reasons - 1/ If he is innocent (I acknowledge that this is an 'if') then the real guilty people are still at large, & 2/ the authorities for not sharing their concerns with the other people (particularly their own citizens) boarding the flight.
That al-Mehrahis conviction paved the way for the UK and US to reopen relations with Libya and helped to bring Libya back in from the cold, which has indubitably made for a safer world, is irrefutable. But should this be at the expense of the truth, the name of one man and the secrecy of our authorities?
This is not an attack on any ex-President, nor the USA, but I should like to understand the average American mindset upon this matter. So often, Brits and Yanks do agree, we share a language (almost) and visit each others countries for holidays, work and retirement, but on this matter we appear to be poles apart - I just want help understanding the opposite view.
Thanks
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| | | | | | | | 1.  dlr297 (2795) | 5 months ago |  My opinion, and yes i am from the United States. The man was convicted of the crime, and he is serving his sentence. He should not be given special consideration just because he is sick, and given the chance to go home to die. He should rot right where he is.
He did not give the people on that flight any special consideration and they did not get the chance to go home and die.
Yes their are a lot of Questions as to why some did not get on that plane. and nobody's life is greater than another. And every flight that gets threats were treated differently more lives would be saved.
I remember that day back in 1988 very clearly, and as one of the worst days of my life. My sister and her husband were stationed in Germany back then, and about a month before My 15 year old daughter went for a visit. That morning she missed getting to the airport to catch her flight from Frankfort Germany, to connect at London, and then to fly to new york. If she had caught that flight in Germany that day she would have been on the one that went down. And i spent a few hours thinking that she was on that flight before i got the call from her that she missed her flight.
Their was no government intervention as to why she missed that flight it was because my sister did not get her their on time. and i believed then and i still do now that the reason was because of God, He was not ready for my daughter to come home to him yet.
She stayed in Germany another few weeks because i was so afraid for her to get on another flight to come home.
That man was found guilty of the crime, and he personally caused me many sleepless nights, and made me suffer deeply. and i hope he does not get to go home to die.
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 Adrenochrome (736) | 5 months ago | I understand your point of view, it is very well explained, but in the UK special consideration IS given to prisoners with terminal illnesses. To the disgust of some British people, Ronnie Biggs, the 'Great Train Robber', has just been released two weeks ago under identical circumstances.
Thank you for your input, and all the best. | |
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| | 2.  Rollo1 (1624) | 5 months ago |  Your post deals with several issues, not just his release. You put forth a conspiracy theory which holds that the US knew that the plane was doomed but let it fly anyway, minus the important people. I can't speak to that and I don't think it has anything to do with the release or non-release of the bomber. Even if you had proof somewhere that the US hired him to blow up the plane, it still wouldn't exonerate him.
Another contention is that he might not be guilty. I suppose that in most cases without video or DNA evidence, this is always a possibility. But these are issues dealt with on appeal. Without evidence that he was wrongly convicted, we have to assume that he was guilty. In fact, he was found guilty and sentenced.
Then there is the moral conscience of a nation, which you feel is highly developed in the UK, not so much in the US. I am an American. I don't consider myself excessively bloodthirsty, but I do fail to see why the current trend is to release prisoners from jail if they get too ill to really enjoy being there.
If a sentence is for life, the expectation is that you will die in prison. Whether that is years from now when you are old and feeble or sooner because of illness, it was never intended for you to be alive and outside of a prison again.
If this man was simply used by others in order to secure the lifting of sanctions or as a scapegoat, it is truly a tragedy. However, no incident like this has ever occurred but that conspiracy theories rise up around it and take root more deeply than any evidence-based conclusion.
I do not support this man's release because I have no evidence other than his protestations that he is innocent. Although I have not read the case transcript, I have to assume some evidence of his guilt was presented and not refuted. The sentence must be carried out if no appeal is successful.
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| Adrenochrome (736) | 5 months ago | I do not feel, nor does my post in any way suggest that the UK has a more highly developed national moral conscience than the US. I have no idea where you have got that idea from. I have simply pointed out that as two nations with a shared history, shared language and both of which are Christian nations (where other religions are also free to practice) seem diametrically opposed on this issue.
As for the gentlemans guilt or not, one American gentleman, who lost a daughter in the bombing, stated that he did not believe that the right man was in prison, but as he was all that they had, he should rot.
Whether the US government knew or not, ask Tam Dalyell, the UK politician who has been attempting to get this individual freed, and appeals are still underway.
In most of the world, including the USA, a life sentence does not mean life. In the UK it usually means about 15 years. In the USA sentences are frequently handed down that equate to life meaning life, though they do not call them life sentences - they state that the prisoner must serve a minimum term of 125 years, or similar, just like in the recent Madoff case.
I don't favour conspiracy theories, but do feel (and this has been expressed on both sides of the Atlantic) that this individual was politically expedient for the re-opening of relations with Libya. Someone needed to stand trial and he was the sacrificial lamb. My worry would be that by closing the book by imprisoning one man, the true people behind this abhorrent act remain free - Colonel Ghaddaffi for one. If Al-Qaeda sacrificed one foot soldier to prison for the twin towers attack, would America allow Osama Bin Laden to run for President of Afghanistan in this weeks elections? | |
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| | | 3. p3halliwel2005 (2478) | 5 months ago |  I don't think it is right for them to release the lockerbie bomber. Even if he is sick he could fairly go and be confined inside the jail. I know they have this sort of medical facility for prisoners there. He have caused death to so many and have caused this peoples relatives sorrow that they will carry on for the rest of their lives. Why should this person who caused this death be given pardon for a henious crime he has committed. Yes he might be sick and dying but with what he did this is just Karma for him and he should suffer the consequences. I hope they don't release this person. He killed 270 people and It was Britain's deadliest terrorist attack. He should serve his life in jail and not be released at all.
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| Adrenochrome (736) | 5 months ago | He has certainly been fairly tried and convicted, even if there are some doubts, and was imprisoned in line with Scottish Law. (I'm not sure if Americans know that in the UK we also have a strange form of federalism with differing laws and court systems in different parts of the country - many British people don't know it either!)
Doesn't the US allow prisoners early release under extreme health reasons, as a form of compassion? I can't think of any cases like that in the US, but have somehow got a strange feeling that it may have happened previously. I suppose every case must be taken on its own merits.
Thank you for response. | |
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