Like circling vultures, they are swooping and ripping apart the fresh carcass of this story already. Everyone wants a piece, a new angle with which to attack, a choice chunk of MacAskill's flesh that they can take back to their editors or display on their blog as some sort of ugly prize.
Frankly, it's tragic.
The decision ultimately came down to whether leaving the convicted man in prison until his dying day is preferable to showing mercy in letting him go home for his last, painful months. Put simply, it was justice vs humanity and humanity won out.
Both approaches are valid and justifiable. Both should be respected.
We'll never know if the media and blogs would have went quite as radio rental as they currently have if Kenny had made a different decision but my goodness haven't they gone rabid? We thought MPs expenses and Damien McBride smear stories were bad but no, letting a dying man spend his last weeks outside of a prison cell is what really gets a journo's dander up.
At the heart of many complaints is the fact that MacAskill dared to speak for 25 minutes and explain his decison in full.
What did people want? For the Justice Secretary to shuffle on to the platform, meekly mumble that Megrahi will/won't be released and shuffle off again, embarrassed for having the temerity to be in the position to make this decision?
What a shambles.
Scottish Tory Boy's boneheaded response was to conclude that it was a "disgusting decision from an increasingly ridiculous Justice Secretary". Get a grip of yourself lad.
Caron momenarily lost leave of her senses with this Tweet: "two things shocked me - trying to drag UK Govt down with him and making out Scots have monopoly on humanity"
A monopoly on humanity? What on earth are you talking about? It's all the more bizarre given that Caron actually agrees with the decision taken by the Justice Minister.
Iain Dale predictably was against the decision. From his deep blue wool he bestowed this vacuous view:
His failure to comprehend the magnitude of his crimes and say sorry to those affected by them should have meant that he died in the place he belongs. Prison.
Yes, except Al-Megrahi has consistently protested his innocence so to base this decision simply on whether the man has said sorry or not is nonsensical. A forced confession may have worked for Kenny Richey but we, thankfully, are more considered than the US on such issues. (And there goes my chance of a Daley Dozen tonight, oh well)
Douglas Carswell says "the excuse is compassion". An excuse for what? Is Doug suggesting that the SNP have secretly wanted to free this man for a while now?
According to Tory Bear, the Nationalists are "scum" and "dangerous and deluded fools". The "lunatic-fringe pressure group", the "jumped up county council" "embarrassed themselves today" with a "cold and cynical calculated move".
I think the post pretty much speaks for itself in its lack of wit or wisdom.
Total Politics thinks the result shows the Scottish Government has 'teeth' though the suggestion that the decision was taken for Scotland to "flex its muscles on the international stage" betrays a serious misunderstanding of the due process.
I don't know what's more galling, outsiders who want to see Scotland back in its box or Scots who would happily put us back there if they could.
Today was a great day for Scottish devolution. It horrifies me that others are so keen to portray it as anything otherwise. What did we want the Parliament for in the first place if not for decisions like this one?
I don't think I'm overreacting when I say I feel a little bit ashamed about how this has been received. Some objections have been measured and considered but the vast majority have been hysterical with scattershot reasons as to why the sky has just fallen on our heads.
A bleak day for Scotland claimed The Spectator. Yes it was, but for a very different reason than Fraser Nelson proffers.
Apparently we grow an inch overnight. With that in mind, I hope tomorrow morning a lot of people out there can cool down and find a way to stand a little taller than they did today.
We don't do eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth in this country, even the New Testament didn't want a piece of it. The decision today was the correct one. It's what John Lennon would have wanted.
Jesus too.
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30 comments:
Jeff, I'll tell you what's struck me about all this: how so many of the voices on the Right who are damning MacAskill for sending al-Megrahi back to Libya hailed the decision to send Pinochet - whose rule killed three thousand in just the first month - back to Chile.
But then, Pinochet was a 'friend of Britain'. What's thousands of deaths and a seventeen-year reign of terror between friends, eh?
Conversely, as i have just posted, I think it's the day Holyrood grew up. I think it's admirable that one of our ministers took time to asess all the evidence in front of him and come to a conclusion, independently of what the US or England thinks.
Will, you're spot on too.
As you know, I think he made the right decision, but the process has been tainted by the leaks, the delays and the decision to visit Megrahi in prison which, to be honest, I don't think was adequately explained today.
I feel as well that he could have made his statement in half, a quarter, even of the half hour it took him.
I don't feel that it was necessary for him to slag off the UK Government for not participating in the transfer application consulting he did. Given the rest of the stuff he was saying, that sounds like it wasn't a goer anyway. No doubt if they had participated, he'd have found fault with what they said.
I wondered if I had been a little harsh in my tweet, which had come at the end of a very long sermon, sorry, statement, but then I looked at it again:
"In Scotland, we are a people who pride ourselves on our humanity.
"It is viewed as a defining characteristic of Scotland and the Scottish people.
I tend to view humanity as being a defining characteristic of human beings, not just those who happened to be fortunate enough to have been born north of the border.
I read MacAskill's quote out to my husband without telling him that you'd slagged his wife off in public and asked him for his opinion. He is probably the fairest person in the world and he said he felt Scotland was mentioned too many times in that sentence.
I feel that it's quite a dangerous thing if we think that just because we're Scottish we're somehow better than everyone else. I'm really proud to be Scottish, I love this country and missed it to the point of despair when I didn't live here for 11 horrid years - but lovely though the Scottish people generally are, we're no more human than the French, or Canadians, or the people from Papua New Guinea or wherever.
You may not agree with me, but I wanted to put my side of the story.
Caron. What is their higher than to be a Scot? Of course we are better than anybody else. Well apart from at football! But the rest of your argument is sensible enough.
"...with scattershot reasons as to why the sky has just fallen on our heads."
Rather poor choice of words there, is it not?
Jeff
Thanks for this piece - it has helped me make sense of a difficult afternoon struggling with the magnitude and implications of this.
I think the Justice Secretary has doen the right thing and I hope that I can walk an inch taller tomorrow.
Jeff
I didn't agree with the decision. I tried to imagine my family being wiped out at Lockerbie. There's no way I could, but it's a good thing to try and understand what it would be like. Mercy should be in the hands of the surviving families of the victims.
I also tried to erase the justifiable claims of innocence because without the Rule of Law we would live in an anarchic society. Why didn't Megrahi pursue an appeal? Was it more important for him and his family to spend his dying days in freedom, or to clear his name, whether in this world or the next?
At the same time, I was impressed with MacAskill's handling of the final decision. Damned if he does or doesn't, it was right for him to take the time to explain that decision. Humanity is a defining characteristic of Scots, and of many other peoples, but not of every culture. So, no Caron, we don't have exclusivity, and MacAskill never implied that.
This decision was also thought-provoking because it goes against the revenge, hatred, eye-for-an-eye attitude sweeping the world. I suspect Obama is secretly satisfied with this decision, given his attempts at recent engagement with pariah states.
Interesting reaction from some of the London-based media, likening MacAskill's speech to a 'sermon'. Guess it fits in with the Presbyterian stereotype of Brown, and now other Scots.
One thing is certain. Whether intended or not: the world now knows Scotland has a Government with some teeth.
Many of the responses are symptomatic of an attitude that devolution has given the Scots ideas above their station. This was graphically demonstrated by the Tory MP, Daniel Kawczynski, on the 'World at One' on 13th Aug. He said the decision should be taken by the UK government and added: does this mean local councils will be starting to make foreign policy decisions.
This attitude is, I'm sure, widespread in the Tory party in England and is steeped in the mind-set that sees Scots who want decisions made in Scotland as upstarts who do not know their place. Clearly the temerity of the Scots hits a raw nerve because it indicates that the mystique of the 'sovereignty of parliament' is wearing thin. The natives are no longer doing what their told.
So if you can't control them the next best thing is to ridicule them. Many of these people chose not to acquaint themselves with the reality of devolution, thinking it of no importance. The thing that galls them about this decision is that it upsets all that by thrusting the reality of devolved politics in their face.
Dear oh dear.
You're right, it's not a disgusting decision to allow a convicted mass murderer our of prison. Baffling stuff Jeff, baffling.
John Lennon? Jesus? WTF?????
Gosh, STB's true colours are shining through there.... The man is dying for God's sake, he wouldn't be in prison for much longer no matter how much you want him to suffer. Or maybe we should just string him up and make someone else a murderer too..
It was the right decision - and for the Cabinet Secretary to promote humanity and compassion in Scottish society is fine by me. What would you prefer?
STB, I thought the Tories were against foreign nationals serving sentences in Scottish prisons?
For a really thoughtful take on it all, try this.
I'm not speaking for my party, I'm giving my personal opinion on matters.
Anon, a big oops. Will change the unthinking 'sky falling on our heads' line next chance I get. Thanks for pointing out the poor language choice.
STB, you honestly think it's ok to let someone, anyone die of cancer behind bars? It's barbaric. Yes, the crime was too but a terrorist's mindset is not the template I want to see set down for our civic society. Perhaps we should just have gone round and kicked Megrahi to death? Ps i thought Megrahi's statement was well-chosen and appropriate.
Andrew, I totally disagree that mercy should lie with the affected families. How could they possibly reach an objective view? Of course many of them will be disappointed with yesterday but does a man dying of cancer locked up in a cell really bring closure and satisfaction? Showing compassion makes us the better (and taller) person.
I think the decision is justifiable albeit not one which I would have made. I'd have allowed him out, a day or two before the end, and allowed him to die in a Scottish hospice. Three things disappoint me:-
1. The personal visit to Megrahi. Why not just receive a written representation as in other compassionate release cases?
2. The hand-wringing and religious tone of Macaskill's sermon. Why not a brief and dignified announcement?
3. The political stupidity of the decision. There's a time and place for compassion, but this wasn't it.
I am a staunch nationalist, but I think Macaskill bungled this one.
The forthcoming ludicrous and hypocritical reactions from the unionist parties may yet save the day, however.
CC
I think there might have been more opposition in Scotland to the decision if people were persuaded that Megrahi was in fact personally responsible for murdering 270 people. In the eyes of the law he is guilty of course, but that is all we can say.
We know that many of the British victims' families do not think Megrahi is guilty and support his release which is why I think people need to be very careful about claiming that the decision is an insult to 'the families of the victims' as though they are all of one mind. Very clearly they are not.
It will be interesting to hear what Megrahi has to say regarding the whole process.
Indy, it almost sounds like you're saying that politicians should be second guessing the justice system if they think there's doubt about a conviction.
"Scotland the Brave" sometimes has an artificial, hollow ring and can be put alongside the tartan and shortbread and tourist attractions, but yesterday was the real thing.
This was true Government (with Kenny MacAskill acting in a quasi-judicial role) based on principles of justice and compassion. It was a real moment of truth for the Scottish Government.
I don't pretend to know whether the original conviction of Al Megrahi was the right decision, but a Scottish Court, (sitting on Dutch soil) made a judgement based on the evidence and the law. There continues to be debate about Al-Megrahi's guilt or otherwise and a number of the relatives of the Scottish victims at Lockerbie seem to be convinced that the real plotters and perpetrators of the outrage have never been brought to justice. Many more of the American victims' families are equally convinced of his guilt and remain angry and sometimes vengeful. However, Al Megrahi - a convicted mass murderer - is a dying man.
Seen through the eyes of the victims' families, all they ever wanted was to see their own loved ones walking down the stairs of a plane after that fateful journey. I did have mixed feeling watching the perhaps inevitable celebrations at Tripoli Airport and the strange site of St Andrew flags being waved, but it was a good day.
Over and above the rights and wrongs of the case itself, what struck me most about yesterday's events was that this was a glimpse at the future. Scotland taking responsibility for its own affairs and the consequences for its actions.
Despite heavy pressure on both sides of the Atlantic, in the full glare of the world's media spotlight, Kenny MacAskill made a brave decision yesterday and his clear and dignified statement set out the case convincingly. Scotland standing tall saying this is us, this is what we believe, this is what we stand for.
The future is within our grasp.
http://loosechange-cruachan.blogspot.com/
I hope I've been measured in my response, but I remain of the view that Mr MacAskill handled the decision making process badly but thought I should praise one aspect of the SNP treatment of the case.
Throughout the process (and prior to resuming blogging again) I felt the criticism of Alex Salmond and MacAskill for not speaking to the media prior to the decision to be spurious and immature. It was mere political point scoring, and did no-one who made that particular case look very good. Salmond could not make a statement without it apparently conveying a view of the Scottish government. It was not decision to make - therefore safer to say nothing. The same goes for MacAskill. He could not speak for fear of giving the impression of having made a decision. Any decision needed to wait for the relevant reports.
However, I remain of the view that macAskill handled other aspects of the decision making process badly and has shown himself unfit to be Justice Secretary.
The two decisions became contemporaneous, and Mr MacAskill dealt with both in the one decision. I feel this exacerbated the difficulties he had. Neither decision was predicated on the other, and each should have been dealt with separately. That is a side show though to the main problem.
he met Megrahi - and despite his suggestion that he was obliged to meet him yesterday it is clear from examination of the relevant documents and from basic principles that he had no obligation to meet him. he particularly had no obligation to meet him when he was considering a second application at the same time - where meeting the prisoner was demonstrably inappropriate. This is inept. It gives the impression of a deal having been done (given events afterwards) whether or not a deal had been done. No-one acting in such a quasi-judicial way should ever put themselves in that position. To me, it is huge mistake. I discuss it in more detail at my blog post last night at http://loveandgarbage.livejournal.com/315455.html
Best wishes
Scott
My God. What happened to Scotland? As an AMERICAN with scottish blood (someone find me a leech!) I'm just sickened. I knew there was anti-AMERICAN sentiment on your sad little island but now I'm beginning to realize just how prevalent it is. Thank GOD my ancestors left your sad little island.
Just what John Lennon would've wanted? Really, you shouldn't take your pop-stars so seriously. Do you worship all the beatles? What a pathetic nation you've become. I guess what I'm trying to say is........Fuck you. Who needs you, you nation of fairies (or is it faeries). I'll leave you to debate that one.
Stuart no - absolutely not and Kenny made it very clear that he accepted Megrahi's guilt as a given.
Most other people have doubts however,(on this side of the Atlantic anyway) so it affects the public perception and reaction.
LincolnCounty says
"I guess what I'm trying to say is........Fuck you."
Says it all really. A real blogger.
Indy, ah, yes, it was the court of public opinion you were alluding to ;0)
Of course, Mr MacAskill would say that he accepts Megrahi's guilt, but that certainly puts him at odds with the public perception that you mention!
Dr. Jim Swire, spokesman for the British relatives, comes out of this affair as consistently intelligent, clear eyed and compassionate, and he seems to think Megrahi is probably innocent.
So, reading between the lines, does the UN observer to the Hague trial. If Megrahi was framed it is hardly wrong for him to get a hero's welcome in Libya.
The problem for MacAskill is that Megrahi was found guilty by a properly constituted Scottish court and as Justice minister he has to respect that decision. I think he dealt with an impossible situation with dignity and courage.
The real scandal is how UK and US intelligence services were allowed to frame Megrahi, protect the real perpetrators, and get away with it. (why is the Maltese witness living in such luxury in Australia now?)
I see Lincoln county chose to be hompphobic in his insults over here and anti-Scottish on mine.
Want to trade the 'insults' Jeff they seem misplaced?
Lincoln County.
Well aren't you the big man. Why don't you go out and try and find the truth rather than the lies and hypocracy which F*x News obviously spoon-feeds you.
By far the most repulsive and wicked comment I've seen so far has come from that home of intelligent debate CIF....
'I can just picture hordes of Scotsmen charging to the plains of Lockerbie to be first in line to loot the bodies of the dead of their shoes, purses, wallets, and jewelry. It is no wonder the judicial system and government of Scotland acted the way they did.'
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