[Blue]

Sorry, I can't help myself, and I understand if this get's moderated out.

What the Hell was the Scottish Government thinking?

They released the Pan Am Bomber on.. get this....    Compassionate grounds...

What the XXXK ???

Compassion??  You have got to be sh**ing me.

The Scottish Government have officially lost the plot. 

In a BIG way.

[Shambles]

It sure angered our American cousins that's for sure - made even worse by the "hero's welcome" he received back in Libya 

[Dazzler]

I won't be moderating it out... Seems ridiculous to me too...

[bumpkin]

Whilst I do not agree with the decision I think that we need to be less eager to jump down the Scottish Governments throat on this one.

The "compassionate grounds" appears to be something enshrined in European law which is set in Brussels.  We have no control over what that says apparently and despite every other Euro country sticking two fingers at the Brussels lot, the UK sticks to the line ALL the way.

The decision was made within "the law" based on the prison governer and medical profession opinions which apparently are more important than the families of those who lost loved ones.

I personally don't believe I should have been paying to keep the man in the lifestyle he has had for the last decade and I am glad that the cost of his cancer treatments are not being borne by this country also.

The Americans can say what they like, they were content that another country was paying to keep this individual behind bars, if they want to take him back to the States and try him there for bombing an American jet then perhaps he can serve the rest of his sentence in their country, seems fair to me, we keep him for a decade for the damage he did to Scotland, they keep him for the damage to America.  Don't see them offering though do you?

I appreciate this is a delicate subject and passions may run high but I must say that I do NOT in any way blame the Scottish Government, rather the idiocy of the systems.  Be aware that if devolution was not in place this would have been a decision for UK government and from what I can tell they would have HAD to make the same decision.

[bumpkin]

I have read my reply again here and note that some folks may think I am upset at the overall topic of the thread.

This is not the case and I am the first in the queue for healthy discussion, I just feel that the misreporting of the subject in the UK is so bad that by the time it gets to the other side of the world it will have grown arms and legs and our poor justice minister (who was given a set of rules and told to decide) is the individual scapegoat for the whole sorry mess.  The rules he had to abide by were made by previous governments of varying political affiliation yet the ministers from these other parties forget that when some points can be scored

[Dazzler]

You do make a good point Brian (thanks for the clarification)

[Lakes]

Well said Brian.
the law's are there to try to be fair to all.
in some cases it might not seem fair or just but, ... that's how it is.
also we just hear and read what they want us to see and hear.
if it was me with the wig on i would have them in hard labour camps doing usefull work paying for there keep.
cheers

[MRH130]

It's an impossible situation for the poor Minister to find himself in - I guess the law is the law, but there are a lot of unhappy people with that decision. And the fact he was greeted so positively in Libya is quite depressing. I really didn't expect that, I must be a bit naive.

I do think it's interesting that he (a convicted terrorist) got released on compassionate grounds but the Nazi-hunters still chase and extradite people they consider to be war criminals (innocent until proven guilty presumably) who are in a similar or worse condition health-wise.

Personally though, I think that compassion shouldn't be extended to any convicted murderer just because they're sick. Just my personal opinion... 

[LuciferDarklord]

Thanks for the clarification Bumpkin, a person who looks at this scenario on the surface would be quick to blame the Scottish government.  In an ideal world, I personally think anyone who without any doubt whatsoever deliberately goes about to kill another person, should be executed.  If there is any doubt or not enough evidence to be 100%, then they should get life - hard labour, no medical help or TV's or visits, just run them into the ground.  This might sound a bit harsh but imagine the 'sentence' of the families of the victims.

[bumpkin]

The heroes welcome did make the situation worse, however I am of the opinion that had he died here and we had flown his body home for the burial that it would have been as bad if not worse, would that not have made him a martyr and we would then be being lambasted for allowing the body to return to Libya.

[MRH130]

Good point Bumpkin, it does seem that it's easier to be a "martyr" when you've died at (or in) the hands of the infidels.

Maybe it was the best thing. People should mention that - that angle isn't getting a run on this side of the world (that I've seen)

[bumpkin]

It's not getting mentioned over here either