Release of Megrahi gives world a 'lesson in compassion'

Published on Tuesday 1 September 2009 20:13

NONE of the six pupils sitting around a couple of desks in Knightswood Secondary School was alive when PanAm flight 103 was destroyed and crashed into the town of Lockerbie.

Shona Bennett even admits she had never heard of the Lockerbie bombing until two weeks ago. But the 16-year-old, and her classmates in the Glasgow school, are debating the decision made by justice secretary Kenny MacAskill to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds to return to Libya to die from prostrate cancer.

And the group has big questions. Beyond shouting politicians, these Higher Modern Studies pupils want to figure out how compassion fits into the justice system – what the decision means for Scotland and whether you can be punished and have rights taken away but still be treated compassionately.

Their gut reactions to the release of Megrahi are telling. Five of the pupils thought it was wrong and only 15-year-old Fearghas Kelly believed it to be the right decision.

"The compassionate grounds is unique," he says. "It was a good thing. The whole conviction did not sit right with me."

Kirstin Stewart, 16, disagrees: "Prisoners have died in prison before. Why should there be special treatment for him?" she asks.

"A life sentence should be until the day you die," adds Lynne Easton, 18.

The concept of "compassionate grounds" is complex, as the students discover. Discussions turn to whether there are any circumstances under which people should be released in this way.

Kirstin asks: "Where's the limit for being released for compassionate grounds?"

Fearghas suggests a practical solution: "Do you think there should be a separate hearing if they should be released on those grounds? If people are saying there will be loads of people using that as an excuse, there will have to be a way to limit it."

Marcus Guy, 17, points out that Mr MacAskill has effectively set a precedent for future cases: "I honestly do think if someone was in jail for just 24 hours and their illness was terminal and the time they had left was really limited then … we did it once so we have to stick to that."

He then changes tack, proposing a clear distinction between the acts of Megrahi and that of other offenders: "If someone is in jail for rape, then no way," he says. "People who have it in them to do that lack compassion completely."

This leads to talk of family and the consideration that should be given to loved ones in such cases. They are asked: does the family of a rapist not deserve to see them before they die?

"If someone in my family raped someone I would not want anything to do with them," says Lynne.

Kirstin agrees: "Even though it's not their fault, it's their loved one's fault for putting them in that situation," she says.

A different view its thrown up by Ryan Mulholland, 16, who says: "I think it is a right for the family to see Megrahi. The compassion is more for his family getting to see him, rather than him getting to see them."

Lynne counters: "What about prisoners who don't have a family? Why would they want to get out if there was nobody waiting for them? But they have the same right. There might be things they can do before they die."

As discussions progress it becomes clear that everyone around the desks has doubts about the conviction. This keeps emerging as an underlying current in the discussion, as does the American reaction.

These considerations lead to a reversal of opinion among the group. Although five of the pupils initially thought Megrahi's release was wrong, they now begin to defend Mr MacAskill's decision and argue that Scotland should be pleased to have gone its own way.

"We should be quite proud of ourselves," says Fearghas. "I was proud to be Scottish. We are just a wee country and we did this so we should be proud of that.

"I don't think the Americans have any right to say it was wrong considering they bombed Iraq for imaginary reasons."

Shona says: "You should not just treat others the way they do you. You should be the bigger man."

"I think we have shown ourselves to be civilised," adds Kirstin.

All agree the saltire-waving scenes in Libya hurt Scotland, but they insist Scotland should stick to its guns.

"We think it's right. End of," asserts Kirstin. "It's our justice system, not yours."

As the pupils defend the release they reveal an unease at the spotlight on Megrahi. They report feeling uncomfortable at releasing someone because they are dying of cancer, then watching to make sure they die.

Marcus says: "He is being imprisoned by the media. There's a complete lack of sensitivity around the case. We gave him his freedom back so he could enjoy it with his family. But there are cameras in his hospital ward. We should leave him to die because we said it was compassionate."

Lynne agrees: "That's just a lack of respect."

Despite an emerging consensus on Megrahi's post-release treatment, debate soon returns to the rights and wrongs of Mr MacAskill's decision.

Shona wonders if his statement about the bomber facing a punishment by a "higher power" means everyone with cancer should get out of jail.

"Everyone who has cancer, are they being punished by God?" she asks.

The weighty topic is clearly food for thought for the group, and some of their positions shift radically within minutes. When this is pointed out, they acknowledge how challenging the subject is, and that everyone has a different, persuasive, opinion.

"A question can make you say something that contradicts what you said ten minutes before," admits Shona.

"It's really, really complicated and I actually feel so much for MacAskill having to make the decision," says Lynne.

In a short time, these pupils have challenged their own positions and now most are veering towards thinking the release was correct. "It was right, but there's still part of me that believes it was wrong," says Kirstin, betraying lingering doubts.

She is joined by Shona, who takes a middle road: "I don't know. I think it was a bad decision but we should be proud that we made it."

Ryan is more sure: "I'm swinging towards it being right now."

"It was right," agrees Marcus.

"I believe it was right now," adds Lynne.

And Fearghas, who was initially the only pupil to believe the release of Megrahi was the correct decision, concludes: "I think the positive aspects of it outweigh the negative bits."

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