Scotland's Justice Minister Was Correct: Compassion For A Dying Convict Is Consistent With Western Values

I fully realize that I will have my name muddied for this support of Scotland’s Justice Minister in sending the dying Libyan convicted spy home to die in Libya.  I will only say that Western justice systems do not operate on revenge or vengance.  They operate on clear adherance to law, proof of a crime and compassion based on Western Judaeo-Christian values that pervade our legal systems. 

Here is why I support what the Scottish government just did.  I ask you to read this as a Western democrat in a republic based on the rule of law, and not as a vengeful person seeking blood.

I have many friends here in the D.C. area who are British citizens.  Many of them assure me that when this Libyan, who is a supposed intelligence operative, was convicted in Scotland for taking part in the bombing that caused the catastrophe over Lockerbie it was never clearly proven that he had anything to do with the bombing.  Circumstantial evidence indicated that he played a role in the catastrophe that caused so many deaths in this terrorist bombing.  These Brit friends tell me that it was never entirely clear if he was a scapegoat for Western fury or if he really did have something to do with this.  These British friends of mine tell me that they followed the case very closely and they are still not sure in their own minds if this man was involved to any real degree in the terrorist activity.  The U.S. wanted someone to pay for the terrorist attack.  The Scots may have gotten a man involved in it, they convicted him for it. But many solid, reasonable Brits that I count as friends tell me that they are not sure of his guilt.

For many generations the West has insisted that the countries of the Middle East put aside their hatreds, end the blood lust and the vendettas and work toward peace for the sake of the entire world.  We insist that the senseless killings in the Middle East end so that peace can become a reality and we are not held by the throat because of it in constant struggles for resources and the never ending religious hatreds that define the Middle East.  Now it is our turn to put our actions where our mouth is.  Do we have what it takes to actually do what we have been telling the Middle Easterners to do for decades?

The Libyans were wrong to welcome this man home as a conquering hero and from what I can tell, this was not supposed to happen.  Apparently the Libyans gave assurances to the Scots that this would not happen.  They either lied to the Scots or they could not control their egos once a PR event presented itself.  They will pay dearly for their indiscretion here.  Trust me.

But the fact is that Scottish doctors have said that this man will be dead in 90 days or less.  The Scots sent him home to die quietly among family and friends.  It was what a Western government should have done to teach the Middle East that we all need to rise above our hatreds.  We can only teach through actions, not through words.  We need to let this man, who was convicted for a terrorist act on hazy evidence, die among his family and friends to show who we really are; we are not ultra Calvinist automatons seeking vengance above compassion.  We are Western democrats in a federal republic who must support the Western values of justice and fairness shown by the Scots in a tough case involving high emotions.

To quote Mohandus Ghandi, "we must be the change we wish to see in the world".