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On Compassion and the Release of the Lockerbie Bomber
Compassion is always preferable to non-compassion, because when we exercise compassion we grow in our humanity. When we insist on revenge, on a punishment that no longer serves a purpose, we shrink and become less than what we are capable of being.
Provided, of course, that our sympathy or empathy for one person does not create harm for others.
Is Megrahi still a danger? Will his release make Scotland, Britain and the world safer or lead to more violence?
If he's old and dying, presumably he won't be plotting more bombings. Would keeping a dying man imprisoned have a deterrent effect on future airline bombers? I doubt it--those who seek martyrdom are not easily worrying about dying old and sick in jail. If they were, they'd choose a different path.
Would insisting on keeping Megrahi in prison create more bitterness, more anti-Western sentiment? Quite possibly. Letting him go home, improving relations with Libya and forging other ties may lance some of the toxic resentment of the West--or at least of the Scots.
Can we get MacAskill to emigrate and run for Justice Minister here? Perhaps he might free Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for the last thirty-three years on perjured testimony by a tainted witness for the alleged murders of two FBI agents in 1975. Peltier, who is aging and whose health is deteriorating, was recently denied parole, with his next hearing set for 2024.
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Starhawk
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September 1, 2009; 5:33 PM ET
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Posted by: Wolf-of-Badenoch | September 2, 2009 12:16 PM
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A very thought provoking piece but, I fear the sentiments may be wasted on those who have spent their lives under the US and English justice systems where retribution on behalf of victims is such an important part of sentencing. This type of judicial-vigilante vengeance has not featured in Scots Criminal Law for some five hundred years - punishment is meted out on behalf of society (ie the state) and it is up to victims to seek redress though other agencies (including Civil Law action) and the support of their community, family and friends. This does not mean that there is any less compassion for the victims. Indeed by separating the punishment for the crime from redress for victims, it could be argued that there is far more meaningful consideration for the victims.
One additional thought. The anti-compassion group - which apparently includes senior members of the US Administration - has played hard on the fact that al-Megrahi has served only 11 days for the death of each of his victims. They should be reminded that, had he remained in jail until he died, this would have added only a further 6 to 8 hours for each victim. Personally, I believe that their memory is enhanced by a major act of compasion rather than such a trivial figure.