The decision to release the man convicted of the Lockerbie bomber, is still a hot topic a week on (and I suspect it will be for some time).
I have received a large number of E-mails on compassionate release from prison. Most of these E-mails seem to be suggesting that it has never been used in Scotland before Megrahi. Well, you would be wrong. According to figures released by the Scottish Government a total of 23 people have been released from prison since 2000 on compassionate grounds.
So, Megrahi was not a special case, a number of people in the Cabinet Secretary for Justice job have released convicted prisoners on compassionate grounds.
prout de jure 
But I bet you there’s a longer list of people who weren’t released on compassionate grounds and died in prison.
There probably is, but I can pretty much guarantee that they wont have met the conditions for release. Partly, because it is very difficult to get doctor’s to give someone a prognosis of 3 months or less to live.