The death of the Lockerbie bomber: Did he get off too easy?

The man convicted in the 1988 terrorist attack, which killed 270 people, dies in Libya, rekindling debate over whether he deserved the mercy he received in his last few years

An undated photo of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi
(Image credit: REUTERS)

Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person ever convicted for the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing, died of prostate cancer Sunday, three years after Scottish authorities released him on "compassionate" grounds because doctors said he had just three months to live. Megrahi served only eight years of a 27-year sentence, and British Prime Minister David Cameron said Megrahi should never have been freed. But Megrahi's family maintains that he was innocent. Will Megrahi's death bring closure to the relatives of the 270 victims, or is the news that Megrahi died surrounded by his loving relations just one last injustice?

Megrahi got compassion he didn't deserve: "Megrahi is gone and the world is a better place," says Mike Lupica at the New York Daily News, but he never should have been released in the first place. "He was a mass murderer as much as the plotters and pilots on Sept. 11 in 2001 were mass murderers." He was given the chance to go home to Libya, say his good-byes to his wife and children, and "fight for his miserable life. The passengers on (Pan Am flight) 103 never had a chance."

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