Scotland Frees Lockerbie Bomber

(CBS/AP)

The Scottish government says it will release Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds to allow him to return to Libya to die.

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said Thursday that there had been a significant deterioration in the health of al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer.

MacAskill says he is conscious that there "were deeply held feelings and that many may disagree."

Al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. He was sentenced to life in prison.

The airliner - which was carrying mostly American passengers to New York - blew up as it flew over Scotland. All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when the aircraft crashed into the town of Lockerbie.

The White House, which lobbied Britain to keep al-Megrahi detained, said Thursday that the Obama administration "deeply regrets" the Scottish justice secretary's decision.

"We continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland. On this day, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live every day with the loss of their loved ones. We recognize the effects of such a loss weigh upon a family forever," read a statement from the White House.

Al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. The airliner - which was carrying mostly American passengers to New York - blew up as it flew over Scotland. All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when the aircraft crashed into the town of Lockerbie.

The former Libyan intelligence officer was sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years in a Scottish prison for the crime, but a 2007 review of his case raised the prospect that al-Megrahi had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice, and many in Britain believe he is innocent.

Meanwhile, relations between Libya and the West have improved dramatically. Western energy companies - including Britain's BP PLC - have moved into Libya in an effort to tap the country's vast oil and gas wealth.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has lobbied for the return of al-Megrahi, an issue which took on an added sense of urgency when he was diagnosed with cancer last year. His lawyers say his condition is deteriorating.

The question of whether to release the 57-year-old al-Megrahi has divided Lockerbie families, with many in Britain in favor of setting him free, and many in the U.S. adamantly opposed.

British Rev. John Mosey, whose daughter Helga, 19, died in the attack, said Wednesday he would be glad to see al-Megrahi return home.

"It is right he should go home to die in dignity with his family. I believe it is our Christian duty to show mercy," he said.

But American families have largely been hostile to the idea. So too has the U.S. government. Seven U.S. senators and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have urged MacAskill not to release al-Megrahi.

"The announcement of compassionate relief is ludicrous, insane and a travesty," Bert Ammerman, the former president and spokesman for the Victims of Pan Am 103, told CBS News. Bert's brother Tom Ammerman was on the flight.

"He wants to go home to be surrounded by his loved ones," Ammerman said of al-Megrahi. "That option wasn't give to our loved ones. It's reprehensible to think that leaders would accept it, and we're doing it."

"I'm totally against it. He murdered 270 people," said Paul Halsch of Perinton, New York, who lost his 31-year-old wife in the attack. "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was ... and that would be in a box."

Peter Sullivan of Akron, Ohio, whose friend and college roommate Mike Doyle died at Lockerbie, said he believed Britain was putting commercial interests before the interests of the victims' relatives.

"The interest of big oil should not be the basis of a miscarriage of justice to let a murderer of 270 people be released," Sullivan said. "If he's released on compassionate grounds, who would provide comfort and compassion to the family members?"