Lockerbie bomber's death: No closure for families

The death of the convicted Lockerbie bomber who was freed from a Scottish prison in 2009 on compassionate-release grounds came as cold comfort Sunday to the families of his victims.

Luisa Della Ripa of Floral Park, whose husband, Gabriel Della Ripa, was killed in the 1988 bombing attack on Pan Am Flight 103 from London to Kennedy Airport, said she wished Abdel Baset al-Megrahi had left a note or confessed to his deeds before his death. Al-Megrahi had maintained that he was innocent of the charges.

"I mean, at the end of your days, you've got to regret what you did . . . if you have a conscience," Della Ripa said.

Al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 in connection with the attack, which killed 270 people, including 11 from Long Island and 11 on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland, where the remains of the jetliner fell.

Joan Mulroy of East Northport, who lost six family members including her husband and son in the bombing, said she's spent the past 24 years trying not to think about the horrific events of that day. But, she said, she believed al-Megrahi was wrongfully released.

"They just said he was that sick, and he didn't look that sick to me," Mulroy said. "It's just as well he's gone. He was an evil man."

Susan Cohen, whose daughter Theodora Cohen, 20, of Long Beach, was killed in the bombing, noted that al-Megrahi was privileged to die surrounded by his family.

"Well, Megrahi should have died in a Scottish hospital, a Scottish prison," said Cohen of Cape May Court House, N.J. "He got to die with his family around him. And my daughter was not given any opportunities like that."

Libya had admitted responsibility for the attack, and many believe that the bombing was ordered by former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Gadhafi was killed this past October as his regime fell to Libyan rebels.

In a statement, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said: "While this will never heal the pain of the horrific day that took so many innocent lives, I hope this will bring families the comfort that Mr. Megrahi is no longer living free as a hero for his act of terror."

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also issued a statement, saying it was "a grave injustice" that al-Megrahi was released to die in freedom, not in jail.

Cohen said the important thing for many victims' families now was to continue to pressure the U.S. and British governments to fully investigate the bombing.

"They need to find out who else was involved," Cohen said. "There are people who they can interview. They should be looking to see who was higher up who could be indicted. In the end, Megrahi was a tool of Gadhafi's."