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Compassionate release for Lockerbie bomber spotlights different visions of justice

By Douglas A. Berman

As detailed in this New York Times article, headlined "Scotland Lets Lockerbie Bomber Return to Libya," a very high-profile terrorist is being shown compassion by Scotland: The Scottish government announced Thursday that it was freeing the only person convicted in the Lockerbie bombing, permitting Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, a 57-year-old former Libyan intelligence agent, to return home on compassionate grounds after serving 8 years of a 27-year minimum sentence on charges of murdering 270 people in Britain?s worst terrorist episode. The decision to release him early on compassionate grounds was made against strenuous American opposition after Mr. Megrahi?s lawyers said he had little time left to live because he is suffering from terminal prostate cancer...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 20, 2009 (boomark / email).