Pan-Am Flight 103 Bomber Greeted As Hero On Return To Libya

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Comment by Kristen Horton on August 21, 2009 at 11:15am

The highly controversial release of prisoner Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi from Scottish prison on Thursday, August 20, 2009, continues to be a world-wide topic of news coverage.

A statement from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III is below, along with a brief section of the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines pertaining to the so-called "compassionate release" of prisoners.

Should prisoners be granted compassionate release? Please share your thoughts on the issue.

From the FBI Press Release FBI Responds to Decision to Release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi

Statement of Director Robert S. Mueller, III, Federal Bureau of Investigation

"We are deeply disappointed over the decision to release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi from prison. Mr. Megrahi’s guilt was firmly established by the court. His conviction resulted in a life sentence for his part in the loss of 270 innocent lives, including 189 Americans. He never admitted to his role in this act of terrorism, nor did he or the government of Libya disclose the names or roles of others who were responsible. In a case of mass murder over Lockerbie, Mr. Megrahi served less than 14 days per victim. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those victims today, for the ongoing pain and loss caused by this horrific attack."

From U.S. Sentencing Commission Press Release Federal Sentence Guidelines
U.S. Sentencing Commission Adopts ABA Recommendations
on Federal Sentence Reduction

Sentence reduction motions (so-called “compassionate release”) have for many years
been reserved by the federal Bureau of Prisons for situations in which a prisoner was
close to death. Now, under the new Sentencing Commission policy, the range of eligible
cases will be broadened to include prisoners “suffering from a permanent physical or
medical condition,” or “experiencing deteriorating physical or mental health because of
the aging process.”