I mainly don’t do everyday politics in this blog, but I can’t avoid thinking about the al-Megrahi situation. This is the man who committed the Lockerbie bombing, killing almost 300 people in a terrorist act in the 1980s.

He has been in prison in Scotland for some time, and was released a little while ago to return home to die with prostate cancer, on grounds of compassion. Many people, and apparently a majority of the Americans whose relatives were killed in the bombing, feel that he should have died in prison.

The palliative care social work answer to this view is, never mind compassion, think about helping the whole family respond to the death of an important person in their family.

I don’t agree that sending a political message that terrorism is not acceptable is relevant; this message is clear. responding to the family needs of a dying man is the crucial point. Similarly, chaining up people dying in prison was felt to be reprehensible in a case a few years ago, when a man who was clearly beyond escaping was chained to his bed in a hospice. Dealing with the death of a prisoner, no matter what they have done, should respect our common humanity.