The United States spoke out Thursday against the prospect of an early release for the only person convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, after Scottish government officials confirmed that they are considering freeing him on compassionate grounds next week because he has terminal prostate cancer. The prisoner, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, above, a 57-year-old Libyan and former intelligence agent who is serving a 27-year term in Scotland, was sentenced in 2001 for his role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in which 270 people died. The majority of the dead were Americans. A State Department spokesman, Philip Crowley, said Thursday that “we have made our views clear to the U.K. government, to other authorities, that we believe that he should spend the rest of his time in jail.” The possible release got mixed reviews from the victims’ families. Susan Cohen, whose daughter was killed in the bombing, told Sky News that Mr. Megrahi’s release would be “a disgrace.” But Jim Swire, whose daughter died, told Sky it was “inhumane” to keep Mr. Megrahi in prison.

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