al-Megrahi
With all the supposed uproar in the States, and in the UK, concerning the release of al-Megrahi, the convicted Lockerbie bomber, it's important that the debate is not left to those who would respond to every point with the words "but terrorists are evil".
Of course the American administration is disappointed with the Scots: they would much rather that the man was left to rot in jail and that no-one ever opened the case again. But the fact that the Lockerbie bombing trial was a travesty of justice is an open secret: the families of the Scottish victims accept this, which should tell you something.
This week, the Scots government did the right thing, in letting a terminally ill man with only months to live, who was convicted in the shadiest of manners, spend his few remaining days at home with his family.
The linked article is well worth a read.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n12/mile01_.html
Of course the American administration is disappointed with the Scots: they would much rather that the man was left to rot in jail and that no-one ever opened the case again. But the fact that the Lockerbie bombing trial was a travesty of justice is an open secret: the families of the Scottish victims accept this, which should tell you something.
This week, the Scots government did the right thing, in letting a terminally ill man with only months to live, who was convicted in the shadiest of manners, spend his few remaining days at home with his family.
The linked article is well worth a read.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n12/mile01_.html