Lockerbie Bomber Release Justified, Says Church Of Scotland Cleric

By Trevor Grundy
Religion News Service

EDINBURGH, Scotland (RNS/ENInews) The Scottish government was right to show compassion and to release the Libyan man convicted of the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Scotland, an official of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland has said.

"The principle behind the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi a year ago was right, compassion, and my views haven't changed," the Rev. Ian Galloway, the convener of the church's Church and Society Council, told ENInews.

Al-Megrahi was sentenced in 2001 to a minimum of 27 years in prison for the December 1988 bombing, which killed 270 people in the air and on the ground in the Scottish town of Lockerbie.

He was released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds on Aug. 20, 2009 after medical reports suggested he was terminally ill with cancer.

"What has changed is that the man is still alive," said Galloway. "It was originally thought that because of his prostate cancer he had only about three months to live. But it's never possible to gauge a person's life and it's not our job to do that. The decision to release him was correct."

Galloway was speaking as Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, faced pressure from the four U.S. senators from New York and New Jersey for an independent probe into the decision to free al-Megrahi.

"Until such an inquiry is launched, we will not stand by as an injustice remains very much alive in a villa in Tripoli. The American people -- and, indeed, the people of 21 nations who suffered the loss of their beloved ones -- require nothing less," wrote New York's Kristen Gillibrand and Charles Schumer and New Jersey's Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, all Democrats.

Support for the decision to release al-Megrahi also came from the Rev. John F. Mosey, an Assemblies of God minister in northwest England whose 19-year-old daughter, Helga, died in the bombing.

"I believe the Scottish government was right to release the Lockerbie bomber on grounds of compassion," he told ENInews. "As for a full probe into what really happened on 21 December 1988 ... I would welcome that very much indeed and so would a lot of other people allover the world."

Comments

[Asperto]

05:47 PM on 08/29/2010

Hi
May I please inform your HP contributors of the following?:
Scottish Law makes it very difficult to turn down requests for compassionate Release of prisoners.
Release of Prisoners in Scotland.
In Scotland we respect the Law. I hope contributors on your pages will respect the Law and the people we elect to make the laws and invoke the laws.
The release was made under the Scottish Law
“Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993” and that Act empowers Scottish Ministers to release prisoners early on compassionate grounds.
"3 Power to release prisoners on compassionate grounds

(1) The Scottish Ministers may at any time, if satisfied that there are compassionate grounds justifying the release of a person serving a sentence of imprisonment, release him/her on licence.

(2) Before so releasing any long-term prisoner or any life prisoner, The Scottish Ministers shall consult the Parole Board unless the circumstances are such as to render consultation impracticable.
"
Eligibility is “All Prisoners irrespective of sentence-length or when they were sentenced are eligible to be considered for early release on compassionate release grounds”.
Here is a link to a pdf of the current guidelines
http://www.jonathanmitchell.info/uploads/compassionaterelease.pdf

..contd...

[Asperto]

05:49 PM on 08/29/2010

Contd
The Scottish Government was responsible for locking him up - but they also have a duty of care over the prisoner. It would have been untenable to strive to give maximum UK resources to prolonging his life at the expense of others in the NHS.

[Asperto]

05:53 PM on 08/29/2010

Contd...
There are Three main criteria known as “Health and Incapacity Grounds”
1 Terminally Ill (3 Months life expectancy is quoted as a reasonable guideline “an appropriate period”. There is no mandatory maximum life expectancy.)
OR
2 Bedridden OR severely incapacitated
OR
3 If further imprisonment (relating to conditions of imprisonment) would endanger or shorten his/her life expectancy.

So, the release was legal and certainly not hinging on 3 months life expectancy.

Release into hospital is specifically excluded by the act. That is only allowed for “Temporary” release for “Low Supervision” prisoners.
Further. Megrahi was released on license. There is provision under the Act to recall the prisoner if the terms of the release are breached or the prisoner makes an unexpected recovery.
But he has not recovered. He is terminally ill, Bedridden and his life would surely be brought to an early end if returned to the cold embrace of Greenock Prison walls.

Prison is the withdrawal of freedom. Not torture. The day we stoop to the humanity levels of the enemy, is the day we become indistinguishable from that enemy.

[raker]

05:34 PM on 08/26/2010

Churchies, polticians and oilmen: the unholy trinity. If insight or sensibility is what you want, don't ask one of these characters.

[Charles Norrie]

03:32 PM on 08/26/2010

If you care to visit adifferentviewoflockerbie.blogspot.com, you will learn that not only was Magrahi framed on evidence faked by the CIA, but the blowing up of Pan Am 103 was an agreed deal between the US and Iran, giving Iran its revenge for IR-655

[MolliBlum]

05:54 PM on 08/26/2010

Very interesting. Took me a while to find it because the link you provided didn't work. It's at:

http://adifferentviewonlockerbie.blogspot.com/

Certainly, many details are familiar from press reports at the time. Some takes surprised me esp the dismissal (?) of the pflp involvement (flat was raided just around the corner from where i lvied in frankfurt at the time, and there was local astonishment at their subsequent release)

[NYC123]

12:33 PM on 08/26/2010

It is about time someone in the cloth stepped to the alter! The man was released on compassionate grounds! The fact that he's living longer than expected should not mitigate the humane decision to allow the man to go home and spend a little time with friends and family for his condition was dyer!
Yes, I agree the government Libia should not be celebrating as if he was a hero -- but all venues cannot be controlled and wishing the man death is un-Christian! Lets remember Jesus' words when a woman, that was a prostitute, was about to be stoned by the people in her day: "He that is without sin let him case the first stone!" Still excellent admonition to this day!!.......Humbling!

[SRAC]

01:02 PM on 08/26/2010

Being of the cloth, does not make you smart or right. This monster deserved to die in prison. By the way, BP was deeply involved in his release. They wanted oil contracts in Libya. They got them. Man of the cloth, bull.

[MolliBlum]

01:33 PM on 08/26/2010

I am very sorry that your response to my comment didn't make it. We may disagree, but you were in no way disrespecful. I'd like to respond to you nevertheless.
Some of the families agree with my view, others are uncertain, and those who fear they may have been fobbed off with a scapegoat are very disheartened that the appeal was dropped, as there are still many unanswered questions.
You may find this video interesting (it begins with an interview of the father of one of the victims):

http://www.viddler.com/explore/frontlineclub/videos/331

[NYC123]

03:54 PM on 08/26/2010

The admonition from Jesus against mob type action is very fitting on this issue! We in America are so use to getting our way -- when we don't, it's pull the plug time; my way or the highway! America has screwed up in so many fronts it's time we just take a "deep breath, meditate, and try to take first the rafter out of our own eye before taking out of someone else's!"

[MolliBlum]

06:09 PM on 08/26/2010

Libya has not celebrated him as a hero -- they merely welcomed him back as joyfully as any nation would welcome the return of a citizen they believed had been wrongly incarcerated for years in a foreign country. Megrahi has always proclaimed his innocence and fought long for his appeal (which he dropped just shortly before his release). There is much to suggest he may have won that appeal.
But that aside: the Scottish judicial system does allow for compassionate release of prisoners and most applications are granted.

[eric14]

11:25 AM on 08/26/2010

And God said to Tony Blair: Release hundreds of IRA prisoners! Now.'
But God', said Tony, 'between them they killed more than a thousand people!
'Americans?' asked God who should have known everything.
'No,' said Tony who knew he did and became a war criminal to prove it.
'But Maghrahi or whatsisname?'said God.'Don't release him. He killed our people.'
But Tony had decentralised and so it came to pass that some years later blah blah blah.

[Frank Duggan]

10:21 AM on 08/26/2010

Is Rev. Galloway related to that terrorist-loving little gasbag, George Galloway?

[MolliBlum]

08:46 AM on 08/26/2010

I don't believe that Megrahi was guilty of the crime for which he was convicted in the first place.
Having said that, I am also completely supportive of the Scottish judicial system's principle of "compassion". He is by no means the only prisoner to have been released on such grounds.

[SRAC]

01:04 PM on 08/26/2010

Say that after you've visited the families of those murdered.

[MolliBlum]

01:50 PM on 08/26/2010

Many of them also believe that the wrong person was convicted.

[Macready]

06:21 AM on 08/26/2010

well said Rev Galloway . . .the problem is that schumer and his ilk are using Al Magrahi for political capital . . .

[Caromia]

02:42 AM on 08/26/2010

.
I don't see what all the hullabalu is about...the US harbors a Cuban in florida who has bombed2planes.
.
He lives a carefree life with all the liberties...
.
Where is the outrage of Americans? Since he's 'our terrorits'.
.

[MolliBlum]

09:33 AM on 08/26/2010

2 planes?

[charlietuna11]

12:19 AM on 08/26/2010

i believe the release was justified . i also am totally convinced the real terrorist is still at large . the trial was a travesty. there was a desperation to find someone guilty, any one. one day the truth will come out.

[Macready]

06:22 AM on 08/26/2010

totally agree charlietuna11 . . . . Al Maghrahi was the fall guy

[MolliBlum]

02:32 PM on 08/26/2010

yep

[Mwenda Kobia]

08:03 AM on 08/26/2010

I'm amazed your questioning of the trial has not prompted the removal of your comments! Well said! I hope they don't delete your post...

[MISTERUNCONVENTIONAL]

10:34 PM on 08/25/2010

Scottland? Really?

[MolliBlum]

08:34 AM on 08/26/2010

That would be just one "T" -- really