Justice, Mercy, and Lockerbie
The American media is giving intense coverage to the decision of the Scottish government to release the Lockerbie terrorist bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, on compassionate grounds. I was watching CNN in a waiting room this morning. The man sitting next to me declared that somebody should train a “scope” on him. Although I am not familiar with the lingo of firearms, it was clear that this person was calling for the man to be assassinated. He looked around the room, at us, for approval. He received none. He said no more. But as I looked at him, I could recognize the macho swagger immediately. I was disgusted at seeing this face to face. It brought home everything that is wrong with America in this regard — the belief in punishment detached from mercy, the belief in the virtue of violence, the belief in toughness at all costs. And pretty much everybody on CNN would opposed this decision, from Obama on down. No nuance, and no compassion.
And then I came across the statement of Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill. It moved me deeply. For a basic Christian belief is that justice cannot be divorced from mercy and compassion. We live by this principle. We believe that we will all face God’s justice someday, but we know that God is all-merciful and all-compassionate, and this gives us hope. And we look to the personal example set by Jesus. Jesus calls us to tend to those in prison, and he does not qualify this call based on the gravity of the crime. Of course, this is no license to open the doors of prisons, but we are talking here about a dying man. What good can be served by keeping him in jail for three more months? How does it protect society? Or is it more about anger and vengeance?
I am depressed by the US reaction. What’s going on here? I can think of two explanations, and they may even contradict. First, sometimes I get the feeling that Americans simply don’t believe in God’s justice (why else the zeal for the death penalty?). If indeed the American religion is predominantly Gnostic, then there is no real issue with sin, and death is a liberation. So if God will not punish, then humans must punish. The second explanation is that American derivative Calvinism divides the world into the saved and the damned, with America in the former category of course. If God is going to wipe out the bad guys anyway, who are we to show mercy?
You can find none of this dodgy theology in MacAskill’s statement – the text is here and the video is here. It’s worth a watch, particularly toward the end. Why is it that no American public figure can speak of justice in such eloquent terms? Here is the key part:
“Those who have been bereaved cannot be expected to forget, let alone forgive. Their pain runs deep and the wounds remain. However, Mr Al Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power. It is one that no court, in any jurisdiction, in any land, could revoke or overrule. It is terminal, final and irrevocable. He is going to die.
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 losing sight of who we are, the values we seek to uphold, and the faith and beliefs by which we seek to live. Mr Al Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. They were not allowed to return to the bosom of their families to see out their lives, let alone their dying days. No compassion was shown by him to them. But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days.
Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion be available. Our beliefs dictate that justice be served, but mercy be shown. Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs that we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people. No matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated.
For these reasons – and these reasons alone – it is my decision that Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, convicted in 2001 for the Lockerbie bombing, now terminally ill with prostate cancer, be released on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya to die.”
Despite the rampant secularization, and despite the disdain for religion that increasing pervades British society, at times like this it is clear to me that the well of Christianity still runs deep. The Christian heritage is not dead. God’s grace is still evident. The all-encompassing Christian culture displayed so loving by Eamon Duffy may no longer exist, but you can still see its roots — if you just care to look.
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The problem with compassionate action like this is it makes it harder to make headway against the death penalty. I have a pro-capital punishment friend who uses stories like these to show that “life without the possibility of parole” is fictional and the only way to obtain justice is to execute when you have the chance.
“The problem with compassionate action like this is it makes it harder to make headway against the death penalty. I have a pro-capital punishment friend who uses stories like these to show that “life without the possibility of parole” is fictional and the only way to obtain justice is to execute when you have the chance.”
That is an acutal good point. That has been the argument of the many Catholics against the Death Penatly in Louisiana. People who committed less henious crimes than this guy did. Unless something has changed I have not heard anti Death Pent people leave that argument down here. Unless something has changed.
BY the way a much better interview with the Scottish Secretary was this afternoon with Wolf Blitzer. Vitims (family memebersof the fallen) were on too and not the easy fall guy guys as the epople sitting besides MM
THe question the Secretary could not answer was when he had applied this standard to anyone else!! It appears there was none.
The vitims were opposed to the release and from what I could tell there was no “dodgy theology” involved.
I suppose there is good arguments involved and I look forward to debates on here of LIFERS in American prisons that have a far better case of being released than this criminal that has not shown much sign he is sorry
Some of the American reactions to this event may be disturbing. However, it is simply unjust to others to suggest that only a faulty theology could lie behind strenuous objections to the freeing of the Lockerbie bomber. Mercy does not mean ignoring justice, nor does it mean reducing a sentence in every possible case.
It is not at all clear that releasing Megrahi presents no danger to society. Megrahi need not be capable of criminal acts for his release to be socially problematic. Already, he has received a hero’s welcome upon his return to Libya, which was predictable. It seems at least debatable whether it is just or merciful to allow a man guilty of such a crime to receive such public honor if it can be prevented simply by completing the punishment to which he was sentenced.
Furthermore, part of the punishment of a life sentence is that one cannot face the defining moments of life, of which death is one, in one’s home. This is tragic, but it is real. It is part of the deterrent contained in such a sentence. Society has long judged that such a sentence can be just for a serious crime (and, as has already been suggested, without the imposition of true life sentences, the practical real world result would be far more frequent usage of the death penalty). It is neither unjust nor unmerciful to suggest that such a sentence should be carried out to the end, particularly in the case of such a terrible crime.
One can argue the other side too, of course. I’m certainly not condemning the motives behind the Scottish decision, though I think it was a grave error, neither the most just nor the most merciful course of action. My point is that it is perfectly possible to believe in justice tempered by mercy, and also hold that the Lockerbie bomber should have been compelled to complete his sentence.
Magdalena:
But this is not justice! Only God’s justice is perfect, all human justice falls short. There can, and should, be no absolute certitude with human justices. And this is a mistake I see a lot in America, most recently in the Sotomayor debate: all those who implement justice must temper it with mercy, must use “empathy” (to use that much-maligned word!). That means every circumstance is different. It is simply appalling to set down unalterable rules that must apply in every single case — that is a recipe for injustice.
In this case at hand, the person with responsibilty for the common good decided to exercise compassion. For sure (and this gets to Darcy’s point), it was not a required course of action. But it did show the ability to rise above the grave evil committed by Megrahi, a capacity for forgiveness that stands in stark contrast to those who cheer these heinous murders. And that is how God’s grace operates. So let them cheer in Tripoli (if indeed they are). They cannot win.
Darcy
Thank you have some sense.