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I find it somewhat ironic that we're in an uproar over the Scottish government's decision to release Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the convicted Lockerbie bomber, given that the US stance over international protests about the imprisonment of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay was always "hey, it's legal by our country's justice system, so shut up."
Well, what Scotland did was to follow its legal precedents. They don't have a death penalty, and they do have compassionate release for terminally ill prisoners. Releasing al-Megrahi was legal (and possibly even required) by their system. So shut up.
Do I agree with the decision? No, not particularly. But it's a Scottish issue (and judging by this BBC article, there is plenty of light and heat being generated internally regarding the decision. Let Scotland deal with it; the deed's done and can't be undone at this point.
Yeah, I'm disturbed by the hero's welcome the man received back in Libya -- though I'm also mindful that al-Megrahi has always insisted and is still insisting that his conviction was wrong and that he wasn't involved in the bombing. Generally, that's not a terrorist stance; most terrorists seem inordinately proud of their involvement. "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted..."
I do feel sorry for the families of the victims, though -- and I think they have every right to voice their protest to the Scottish government and to be heard. For the rest of us, though... I don't personally support the death penalty (and would vote to repeal it), but it is our law in many states and if the Scottish government insisted that we had to stop all death penalties, we as a country would howl. Well, it works the other way, also. Al-Megrahi wasn't convicted or imprisoned here but in Scotland, and Scotland's law must prevail.
Even if we don't like it.
Well, what Scotland did was to follow its legal precedents. They don't have a death penalty, and they do have compassionate release for terminally ill prisoners. Releasing al-Megrahi was legal (and possibly even required) by their system. So shut up.
Do I agree with the decision? No, not particularly. But it's a Scottish issue (and judging by this BBC article, there is plenty of light and heat being generated internally regarding the decision. Let Scotland deal with it; the deed's done and can't be undone at this point.
Yeah, I'm disturbed by the hero's welcome the man received back in Libya -- though I'm also mindful that al-Megrahi has always insisted and is still insisting that his conviction was wrong and that he wasn't involved in the bombing. Generally, that's not a terrorist stance; most terrorists seem inordinately proud of their involvement. "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted..."
I do feel sorry for the families of the victims, though -- and I think they have every right to voice their protest to the Scottish government and to be heard. For the rest of us, though... I don't personally support the death penalty (and would vote to repeal it), but it is our law in many states and if the Scottish government insisted that we had to stop all death penalties, we as a country would howl. Well, it works the other way, also. Al-Megrahi wasn't convicted or imprisoned here but in Scotland, and Scotland's law must prevail.
Even if we don't like it.