Bill Text: CA ACR92 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Release of convicted Lockerbie bomber.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-08-27 - From printer. [ACR92 Detail]
Download: California-2009-ACR92-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 92 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hagman
AUGUST 26, 2009
Relative to the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset
Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 92, as introduced, Hagman. Release of convicted Lockerbie
bomber.
This measure would declare that the people of California stand
united in sympathy and support for the Lockerbie Bombing victims'
families, for fairness and justice, and in strong opposition to the
irresponsible actions of the Scottish Government in releasing
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, a convicted mass murderer.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is a Libyan terrorist
who was convicted on 270 counts of murder on January 31, 2001, for
his part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland
on December 21, 1988; and
WHEREAS, On December 21, 1988, Pan Am flight 103, a Boeing 747
named "Clipper Maid of the Seas," was destroyed by a bomb, killing
all 243 passengers and 16 crew members, in what has come to be
referred to as the "Lockerbie Bombing"; and
WHEREAS, Eleven more victims were killed on the ground by large
sections of the plane that fell in and around the town of Lockerbie;
and
WHEREAS, One hundred eighty of the victims, exactly two-thirds of
all the victims of the Lockerbie Bombing, were American citizens, and
seven of those victims were from California: Jerry Don Avritt, a
46-year-old flight engineer from Westminster; Surinder Mohan Bhatia,
a 51-year-old businessman from Los Angeles; Stacie Denise Franklin, a
20-year-old flight attendant from San Diego; Matthew Kevin Gannon, a
34-year-old foreign service officer from Los Angeles; Paul Isaac
Garret, a 41-year-old flight attendant from Napa; Barry Joesph
Valentino, a 28-year-old exhibit designer from San Francisco; and
Jonathan White, a 33-year-old accountant from North Hollywood; and
WHEREAS, After being convicted on 270 counts of murder for his
part in the bombing, Abdelbasset was sentenced to life imprisonment;
and
WHEREAS, Abdelbaset was recently released by the Scottish
Government and allowed to return to Libya, after being diagnosed with
terminal prostate cancer and given a life expectancy of less than
three months; and
WHEREAS, The release of Abdelbaset, ordered by the Scottish
Cabinet Secretary of Justice Kenny MacAskill, is morally
reprehensible and flies in the face of justice; and
WHEREAS, Abdelbaset lacked compassion for the innocent victims of
the Lockerbie Bombing and their families, and, in light of this fact,
compassion for Abdelbaset is inappropriate; and
WHEREAS, The early release of a known terrorist and mass murderer
sets a dangerous precedent and opens the window for an even more
dangerous and deadly terrorist attack in the name of "martyrdom"; and
WHEREAS, Abdelbaset has shown no regret for his actions and was
greeted in Libya to a hero's welcome, both of which are highly
disrespectful of the Lockerbie Bombing victims' families; now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the people of California stand united in
sympathy and support for the Lockerbie Bombing victims' families, for
fairness and justice, and in strong opposition to the irresponsible
actions of the Scottish Government in releasing Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed
Al Megrahi, a convicted mass murderer.
