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The Scottish government has released the man convicted of killing 270 people in the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing back to his home country of Libya. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds, after being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer at age 57. Megrahi was supposed to serve a minimum 27-year sentence. He’s served only eight.

The decision has angered many of the victims’ families and pleased others. The United States government issued a statement expressing deep disappointment in the decision. We’re looking at reactions on the BBC, NPR, Libya’s The Tripoli Post and CNN.

The BBC posted this video of Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announcing his decision...

“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. The perpetration of an atrocity and outrage cannot and should not be a basis for loosing sight of who we are, the values we seek to uphold, and the faith and beliefs by which we seek to live.”

NPR’s Steve Inskeep talks with reporter Rob Gifford and notes that MacAskill’s decision to send Megrahi home on a private plane was extremely tough to make.

“The bitter irony can’t be overlooked here, that the people on board this flight weren’t allowed to fly home. ...  The thing about this decision is it was always going to upset someone. It was never going to please everyone. In someways there’s still something of an unsatisfactory feeling, that it was not able to completely give closure to the incident.”

In Megrahi’s home country of Libya, The Tripoli Post states that he was unjustly convicted and interviews his 95-year-old mother. She awaits her son’s return and insists on his innocence.

“We told them that my son was innocent, that he would not slaughter a chicken at home and that he would not have caused the disaster of Lockerbie,” she said.

But one CNN anchor looks at the other side of the debate, sharing a concern of those against his release.

“I was listening to talk radio this morning, and there was a woman who was on who said her husband shared the very same disease and is still alive three years after being diagnosed. So some of the families are not happy about this, his being released, believing that he could actually live a long time at his home.”

So, do you think the Scottish justice secretary made the right decision in sending Megrahi home to die?