Kenny MacAskill and his decision

[Lazydonkey]

I was going to post up lots of things but i've decided not to bore everyone with it. Suffice to say if it was someone i loved who was convicted on the basis of that trial i'd be demanding an appeal as well.

Innocent people have been convicted "beyond all reasonable doubt" in scottish courts before and then be subsequently released after a retrial. Unfortunately our system isn't perfect even when you don't have the most powerful country in the world leaning over it's shoulder baying for blood.

And now Mr Macaskill has suppressed some key evidence, due to be presented at the appeal form coming out.

[meatball]

The US got the blame for similar stuff as the UK and over policies relating to his detention.

[meatball]

And now Mr Macaskill has suppressed some key evidence, due to be presented at the appeal form coming out.

I've missed that bit????

[mwmackenzie]

Bad decision.... suicide bomber in the making... he's going anyway so surely he'll want to go out with a bang in company? His victims were not shown any compassion

[Lazydonkey]

And now Mr Macaskill has suppressed some key evidence, due to be presented at the appeal form coming out.

I've missed that bit????

apologies - foreign secretary.

[Noops]

With respect how can you have a debate about it without considering the fact that the case against him was flimsy at best ?

Most of the posts so far have centred on the fact that it is wrong to release a man who was convicted, all i'm saying is that there was about to be an appeal and would everyone change their mind if he was found to be innocent. Due to his ill health he will not get an appeal and much of the evidence has now been suppressed.

Ironically I agree with the above,( usually I'm off with their heads faction), however there were/ and still are many conflicting issues to this case which due to today's events will now never be found out . Due to the last appeal and lets be fair it would not have been allowed if their was not a good chance something different regarding evidence or overall outcome etc. Hence the loose , loose situation...

I don't believe he did it ......( not on his own). It was always my opinion that very expensive Court proceedings without a jury, where it was held etc, was in its self controversial .

Someones head had to be put on a platter for this at all cost...... I understand the feelings for leaving him in prison to die etc.... Just remember how we the public and the "Scottish Justice" system would look/ feel if it were found after many years that an innocent man went to prison.

[Peter]

Interesting question and when you keep it in black and white then it does appear to stink....However...Even the spokesperson for the victims, when interviewed on the BBC, seemed to attach little significance to this decision and suggested that the real focus should be on finding out the truth about what happened to Pan Am 103 and those responsible.

Personally I think the whole Megrahi case was a convenient diversion... Sorry for drifting into the guilty not guilty theme but very hard to seperate in this instance..


Ronny Biggs - clearly guilty, made a living from his criminal status, effectively humiliated the british justice system..released on compassionate grounds??

[mckeann]

its piss poor thats for sure, but on another note, will this defense work for SP30's and other traffic cop infringements

[campbell]

If you are awarded your own Parliament and want to run your own Government (it is officially still just an Executive, mind), you need to stop blaming others for the decisions you are taking and start standing up for them yourself.

To be fair, It was the UK Government who established the Prisoner Transfer Scheme with Libya. The Scottish Government didn't have the authority (because the UK Government didn't give it the power) to opt out of this. Despite Scotland only holding ONE Libyan National prisoner, the UK Government did not agree to an exemption for (a) Scotland or (b) their one prisoner within this agreement. They then stepped back and washed their hands of the matter. If anything, it is probably an agrument for self determination rather than blaming others. IMHO

ok I take that on board, didn't pick up the full background - a common problem eh

nonetheless, I've worked close to some senior folks in Scottish Govt and so much of it stinks

I never pass Lockerbie on the M74 (A74 as was...from which a chunk was lifted by the debris, IIRC) without thinking about the event. I had just started Uni when it happened, a girl in my class was from Lockerbie, the fireball pics from the telly I will never forget.

If they got the wrong guy for it...then there is some smug fecker still out there...perhaps in a govt post...who really has got away with murder. Like all the rest of these deranged terrorist sorts eh. Just got to look after your own as best you can, no-one else will be doing it for you.

[Mr Momo]

Interesting question and when you keep it in black and white then it does appear to stink....However...Even the spokesperson for the victims, when interviewed on the BBC, seemed to attach little significance to this decision and suggested that the real focus should be on finding out the truth about what happened to Pan Am 103 and those responsible.

Personally I think the whole Megrahi case was a convenient diversion... Sorry for drifting into the guilty not guilty theme but very hard to seperate in this instance..


Ronny Biggs - clearly guilty, made a living from his criminal status, effectively humiliated the british justice system..released on compassionate grounds??

[RDH]

With respect how can you have a debate about it without considering the fact that the case against him was flimsy at best ?

Most of the posts so far have centred on the fact that it is wrong to release a man who was convicted, all i'm saying is that there was about to be an appeal and would everyone change their mind if he was found to be innocent. Due to his ill health he will not get an appeal and much of the evidence has now been suppressed.

Ironically I agree with the above,( usually I'm off with their heads faction), however there were/ and still are many conflicting issues to this case which due to today's events will now never be found out . Due to the last appeal and lets be fair it would not have been allowed if their was not a good chance something different regarding evidence or overall outcome etc. Hence the loose , loose situation...

I don't believe he did it ......( not on his own). It was always my opinion that very
expensive Court proceedings without a jury, where it was held etc, was in its self controversial .

Someones head had to be put on a platter for this at all cost...... I understand the feelings for leaving him in prison to die etc.... Just remember how we the public and the "Scottis
Justice" system would look/ feel if it were found after many years that an innocent man went to prison.

I have to agree with the Donkey and the Pest controller.

[meatball]

Interesting question and when you keep it in black and white then it does appear to stink....However...Even the spokesperson for the victims, when interviewed on the BBC, seemed to attach little significance to this decision and suggested that the real focus should be on finding out the truth about what happened to Pan Am 103 and those responsible.

Personally I think the whole Megrahi case was a convenient diversion... Sorry for drifting into the guilty not guilty theme but very hard to seperate in this instance..


Ronny Biggs - clearly guilty, made a living from his criminal status, effectively humiliated the british justice system..released on compassionate grounds??

Just for the record I do not believe that he was alone, I do believe he had a part in it and he was the only one they could catch.
Ronnie Biggs should not have been allowed out either IMHO.

[meatball]

Am I correct in saying that the people that say it was a good decision believe that he was innocent, Kenny MacAskill knew that, hence his decision?
Before I get slated I respect everyones opinion, just looking to see how they form that opinion.
Hope no-one has been offended so far.

I believe Dr Swire is fairly outspoken and the majority of the relatives are no longer represented by him, although I cannot find the references online that I hoped to quote for this.

[mikeyb13]

Makes me ashamed to call myself Scottish and an SNP voter
Does anyone remember the days when we all wanted more independence but no-one voted for the SNP because Salmond was an idiot?

Perhaps a more just death for Megrahi would have been to take him on a plane to 30000 feet and chuck him out the window, preferably tied to MacAskill and Salmond

[GregR]

Its a nosense for McAskill, in a quasi-judicial role to have made the decision political. I have precious little respect for him nor his administration, so all of the 'ashamed to be Scottish' twaddelers can give yourselves a big pat on the back, as if you're so small minded to think that after today's decision you're small minded enough to have voted them in in the first place.

Compassion is a funny thing. Should we show compassion to someone that (a Court says) was guilty of killing 289 people? Obviosly no compassion on his part. I don't wish to turn this into a political or a philosophical debate; I actually don't have a problem with what happened today. What life does he have left that makes the time he spends outside Greenock any different to the life he spent inside?

Would I react differently if my mum/sister/wife/daughter had died that day? No sir. Would that make me right in that scenario?