The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: jameslindsay on August 20, 2009, 08:55:42 am
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It looks as though the Scottish Government will announce this afternoon the fate of the man in jail accused of killing 270 innocent people in 1988. Personally I do not think he should be returned home, ill or not. This will probably open up a can of worms but I am interested in other peoples thoughts. I am surprised the American Government has not made threats if he gets released.
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I agree entirely, he may well be innocent and be a scape goat (sorry about the negative reference to goats!!) but however, he has been found guilty and given a sentence, those people who were killed have no reprieve, and as James said, releasing him may light a fuse to more unrest. Personally I cannot understand when someone has committed a crime are they let out if they are terminally ill????
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He didn't show compassion to those he killed in their last moments so why should he be realeased early on 'compassionate' grounds. Life should mean life! Send him to a Libyan jail by all means, prob less comfortable than ours and we won't have to pick up the cost of his health care, relase him NO!!!
>:(
I could rant so long and hard over the so called criminal justice sytem and prisons and punishment...best not to get started!!!
Feel better for getting that of my chest... :-[
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I think he should be released on compassionate grounds. The man is dying - if he did what he was convicted of, and there seems to be some doubt about the security of his conviction, then maybe he will have to face his God very soon.
For his family, he should be released.
It aslo p*sses off the Yanks, so that makes it even more right.
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Hmm; not an easy one this. There have been all sorts of conflicting reports as to his innocene or not. However was found guilty, so we have to go along with that. This then leads us to should he be released as he is terminally ill. Personally I am sitting on the fence, unable to come to a decision in my own mind.
I feel for the relatives of the dead who want him to stay inside, but it must be said that there are relatives ( albeit a minority ) that think he should be released. Its all a bit fishy when you consider he was only brought to the UK in 2004, at a time when Gadaffi was keen on restoring relations with the west.
I am however very happy that Mrs Clinton is upset. What an awful woman she is.
Kevin
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Oh, one more point. Hats off to brave Scotland for not shying away from such a difficult decision. The pressure on them, mainly from the other side of the pond must be intense. Scotland will have a rough time with this for a while, but will come out stronger for it. A few less American tourists is niether here nor there.
Kevin
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sorry ' brought to the Uk 2004 ' should be 2001
kevin
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This is a very difficult decision for the Scottish Government.
A sentence should be a sentence, illness comes to all of us, but if he is guilty and was released, he
could also influence others to be terrorists, and be seen by some, even religions people, as a hero.
I think the only solution for the Government is to send him to prison in his own country, or keep him where he is. Sending him home, could be seen as being fair, and I would not be worried about the Americans on this one, I would be more worried about more terrorists targetting Scotland.
Julie
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he may well be innocent
uhm, all the more reason to release him no?
regardless of who he is or his crime - our penal system will grant early leave on compasionate grounds for people who are dying. I don't see why we should change that humanitarian position.
as to his individual crime - i think his early release and dropping of the appeal all sits very nicely with some members of the security services and government (though given the time that has passed, i'm sure the current mob will blame the last mob and ultimately, they'll all cover their arses!)
Whatever he did/didn't do - he didn't do it all alone. A full public enquiry needs to be conducted into this and the other people involved should be found and put through the justice system.
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This is a very difficult decision for the Scottish Government.
Indeed
A sentence should be a sentence, illness comes to all of us, but if he is guilty and was released, he
could also influence others to be terrorists, and be seen by some, even religions people, as a hero.
Does the name Bobby Sands mean anything? Nothing like creating a martyr by letting him die in a British prison.
I think the only solution for the Government is to send him to prison in his own country, or keep him where he is. Sending him home, could be seen as being fair, and I would not be worried about the Americans on this one, I would be more worried about more terrorists targetting Scotland.
Julie
I thought that was the plan - not releasing and freeing him. He is being transferred to a prison in his own country to be hear his family
think Smeaton has done enough to deter terrorists in Scotland!!! LOL
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Just one word on the release of the lockerbie bomber.......OIL!
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'An eye for an eye?' - that is NOT our prerogative, it is the prerogative of a being higher than us. He should be allowed to go home to die in peace. A young man killed my first husband in a car too big and heavy for him. I forgave him, and the stupid father who let him drive it, long ago. Life is too short to allow yourself to become bitter and twisted.
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Looks like we will all find out in about a Hour, seems strange why they wanted him to drop his appeal, seems like a huge can of worms is going to be opened,
We shouldn't be puppets to our friends accross the pond, we did that already and we are still paying for that one, (Gulf) :chook:
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he may well be innocent
uhm, all the more reason to release him no?
regardless of who he is or his crime - our penal system will grant early leave on compasionate grounds for people who are dying. I don't see why we should change that humanitarian position.
as to his individual crime - i think his early release and dropping of the appeal all sits very nicely with some members of the security services and government (though given the time that has passed, i'm sure the current mob will blame the last mob and ultimately, they'll all cover their arses!)
Whatever he did/didn't do - he didn't do it all alone. A full public enquiry needs to be conducted into this and the other people involved should be found and put through the justice system.
Couldn't agree more with sellickbhoy! And more to the point so does my other half. And I rate his opinion quite highly, given that he lived two streets away from Sherbourne Cresent in Lockerbie, where a large portion of the plane landed. He knows people who died there- and but for the grace of god he could easily have been killed by it himself. Although he was only a child when it happened, he does have a stronger insight than a lot of people.
Beth
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Well Parliament have now released him, this is an outrage!!! Great justice for all the families that lost a relative/friend. Just when I thought SNP were making a difference.
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Well Parliament have now released him, this is an outrage!!! Great justice for all the families that lost a relative/friend. Just when I thought SNP were making a difference.
I hate to disagree with you James, but I do.
Speaking as someone who was there (albeit very young at the time) and knowing some of the victims and their families, I have to say, on this side of the Atlantic at least, there have always been the greatest concerns about the soundness of Megrahi's conviction (which has alot to do with the "evidence" supplied by the US authorities, and the frankly odd events that occured in Lockerbie in the days following the bombing).
In that regard I'm glad that he's been released on compassionate grounds.
What is outrageous however is that the UK government saw fit to completely ignore the expressed wish of the Scottish Government vis-a-vis the question of prisoner transfer. They did this solely to chum up to Gaddafi despite them having absolutely no jurisdiction over the crime or the prisoner himself. It was like deciding wether someone could use your next door neighbour's driveway or not, without taking any notice of their wishes.
What is even more sad is, because of the extreme unlikeliness of Megrahi's guilt, and his dropping of the appeal (an appeal that would've probably seen him released anyway given what we know now) what really happened in Lockerbie, and during the subsequent investigation, is likely to remain a mystery.
There is a reason why the US are so keen not to have him released in my opinion, and it goes a long, long way beyond concern for the victims.
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Alex, I too doubt this man was ever guilty. However, he was convicted as Guilty and we
spent wated how many millions on the trial???
It will be interesting to see the reaction in Libya when he returns?
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good for the scots and their compassion!
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Happy hippy, no problems. I have the luxury of not having young children anymore. I am sure that I would be worried as you are.
Kevin
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I'm on the fence, but edging towards agreeing with Scotland. The thing I love is that Westminster have been forced to sit there impotently watching the Scottish Parliment making a decision that has a huge impact on International Foreign policy. Well done the Scots! ;D
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Whether he is guilty or not, I think they have made the right decision and admire Kenny Macaskill for making it, even if his announcement was pretty naff. Do unto others etc etc.
Related, but not the same, there does seem to be some serious questions over his guilt - and I absolutely agree with Lockerbitereiver, sadly with the dropping of the appeal, we'll never get closer to the truth. Dirty deeds, I suspect. I heard tonight that the one witness, a Maltese businessman, now living in Australia was paid millions of dollars by the US for his evidence.
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we'll never get closer to the truth. Dirty deeds, I suspect. I heard tonight that the one witness, a Maltese businessman, now living in Australia was paid millions of dollars by the US for his evidence.
Another instance of Americans bending the rules with money - and trying to deceive us all ::)
I agree that the Scottish Government made the right decision.
Julie
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The man was a convicted Terrorist and nothing changes that. Look at the heros welcome he received on his return today, doesn't look like a dying man to me. Today Scottish MP's should hang their heads in shame, in my opinion.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8213210.stm
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The welcome may be seen as inappropriate here but in Libya, he is regarded as innocent. Which, indeed, he may well be.
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After the peace agreement in N. Ireland a lot of terrorists /bombers / murderers were released. Whats the difference?
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The welcome may be seen as inappropriate here but in Libya, he is regarded as innocent. Which, indeed, he may well be.
Just like the statements from Obama etc. This is all for home consumption. why do you think the British government has gone into hiding?
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Well I think it safe to say that America has crossed Scotland off its Christmas list.
Kevin
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Well I think it safe to say that America has crossed Scotland off its Christmas list.
Great, best news out of all this! ;) ;D ;D
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If the tables were turned and a Brit had been imprisoned in Libya with questionable evidence and then was returned on compassionate grounds the Brit would get a hero's welcome and be on every daytime talk show going as well as making a fortune telling their story to the papers!
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Welcome, I feel that all the people on here are like friends, we all sit at the computor with are tea, coffee or being Friday night, a wee dram, and have a good old gossip/chat/blether.....so nice to have like minded people!!!
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Now how did my post welcomming someone (forgotten who) turn up here, and who put's the adds on, at least not a drug realted one on my post this time, just hollidays in Lockerbie, maybe they should have released the bomber there!!!!!!