.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11...ddam/index.html

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/05/s...ct.html?ref=rss

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2629976

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6117910.stm

Comments?

I don't support the death penalty, not even in this case. Also a few things jump out at me on this.

While I have no doubt that Saddam is a horrible, horrible man, and should serve the remainder of his life in prison, I don't think this court, which was a mockery of the very idea of justice, was the body to do it. International crimnial court would have sentanced him to life in prision, no doubt there. And thats how it should have gone.

Also, might killing him make him into a martyr?

Yeah, I agree with you on about everything. I'm against capital punishment, even for bastards like him. And it might also make him a martyr. Though it's not sure: Saddam Hussein is a political leader, not a religious one.

If we let him rot in prison (a true prison, not a luxury mansion like the one Pinochet currently lives in), he'll eventually be forgotten, but an execution would make him immortal in the eyes of his supporters. If he spends the rest of his life in prison, he'll have plenty of time to regret all his horrible crimes, so I think it's the most fitting punishment for him. Let's not lower ourselves to his level if we can help it.

Anyway, hanging is in my opinion a crude, even barbaric way to execute someone.

I too, am against the death penalty, but not because I don't think some people deserve to die, but I won't go on about that.

If he does die, I don't believe it'll make him a martyr, although his supporters will say he is one. Because he isn't dieing because he refuses to renounce his religion, or because of his religion, it's because he was a horrilbe person who killed many innocents.

True enough. When it comes down to it, Saddam ran a pretty secular government for a Middle Eastern country.

I suppose when I say Martyr I mean it more in a political sense than a religious sense.

Well, in that sense, it could be argued more easily. But at the end of the day it's still over horrible things he did while in power, not so much political actions or beliefs. Because murder is murder, no matter if it's for a religious, political, or just plain sick reason.

Funny how Saddam was sentenced just a couple of days before the midterm elections...

Not to mention that the trial itself was a shambles that has been criticised by many groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, as well as by a United Nations judicial expert.

Anyway, there are quite a lot of politicians out there who should be hanged alongside this murderous dictator... if you know what I mean.

Saddam Hussein’s death sentence: a travesty of justice

I heard from quite an unreliable source at my school that he only got sentenced for 80 of his killings; as the government couldn't prove the other hundreds.
Do you know if this is true?

Anyway, back to the matter, I don't think the Death Penalty is appropriate in any condition: not because people don't deserve to die for anything, but probably because he needs to suffer more than that. Solitary confinement for his whole life sounds appropriate to me.

And Merry Christmas to you to.

Personally, I think that allowing him to slowly go more insane than he already is would be an excellent solution. Not only does he deserve to suffer, but it would deny the terrorists the rallying-point that it seems like they're trying to create around his execution. They would simply have no opportunity to call him a martyr.

In my opinion, justice should never serve revenge.


I think prison should have three objectives:

1. Making the society safer by keeping criminals away from it.
2. Dissuading people from committing crimes.
3. Rehabilitating.


Capital punishment is, in my view, just a way to avenge the victims. It can't be used to justify the Objective 1, because prison is just as good. It doesn't serve Objective 2 either: it's proven that the crime rate of the States with capital punishment is not lower than that of States without it. And of course, you can't rehab someone by killing him; so Objective 3 is, in this case, worthless.


Edit: If I were Saddam Hussein, I would commit suicide in my cell a few hours before the execution, with the satisfaction of knowing that Bush and millions of Americans and Iraqi's who waited for my public hanging will be pissed off.

In my judgment there is nothing wrong to hang him.

So true.

Agreed.

Bet the film leaks within 24 hours.

There will surely be about 70 fake videos of it posted on Youtube. (Like what people did with Steve Irwin's death, etc...)

I've been watching this for the past couple hours. They have been talking about some sort of red card or something handed to him before he was hanged. Could anyone explain that? They should be showing pictures soon, but they don't want to show anything without filtering it and warning people first.

Well, this is what happens to the West's "strongmen" when they step out of line.

I couldn't care less for Saddam Hussein, but I feel sad that such a tyrant has been put to death without proper justice for his many victims.

The Kurds particularly must feel cheated.

Moreover, the whole invasion and occupation has tainted what should have been a day for the Iraqis to officially move on to better days.

I can't see that happening.

Well looky here:

[dohtml]<embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-8743523486173837640&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed>[/dohtml]

Note: Does not show actual moment of death, but doesn't really leave much to imagination. You've been warned.

When do we get to see the body :D

I imagine they learned their lesson from last time when they paraded the bodies of his sons through the streets.

Link: This video image released by the Biladi TV stations appears to show the body of Saddam Hussein.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240117,00.html

When people had mentioned the death penalty even in the case of Saddam Hussein's crimes...

Does anyone even find it sligthly ironic that the whole purpose of multiple Tomahawk cruise-missile strikes were with the intent of killing Saddam? And this was under Bush Sr. as well as Bush Jr. SO when they do find him in that little rat hole, the whole $1.45 for the bullet being expended would have been too expensive at that juncture?

It seems appearances of being "civilized and cultivated" certainly were more important when he was discovered. Makes no sense... millions spent with intent to kill him and no one pulls the trigger. Watching the History Channel, was quite impressed with his underground bunkers.

I think when you set out on a military objective and call it "war", you kill your enemies. And Delta was right. If there are gross injustices against mankind, then you convene an Internation Criminal Court as proscribed against those commiting the debateable event of holocaust/genocide.

RancerDS

I have to agree with you on this, as the two wars or more to the point the last war, was just to get one man. The case to going to war in my judgment was weak, weapons of mass destruction was not a rational reason for going to war. The Soviet Union had more weapons of mass destruction; the United States never went it alone to take them away. The idea the war was to bring democracy to Iraqi was never a smart idea in the second. Billions of dollars, the cost of human life on both sides, just to get one man was not worth the price.

This may be a little far-fetached but.. why didn't they just kill him when they found him, and then make it look like he committed suicide?

No fuss, maybe a few conspiricy theories but i'm sure they could make it look convincing enough.

Did not President Bush say we are going to capture him and place him on trial? If he was killed during the ground war to remove him, the cost of the war or how long the war has become would have been shorter.

Just think of the political nightmare if Hitler was captured at the close of WWII. Even after sixty plus years, there are still Nero Nazis in Europe.

The war in Iraqi is going to take a century to clean up the political mess. Even then, the political settlement could be a world order nobody really dreamed or wants.

Did find a video of the hanging, did see the drop ... so cool. Used my camera, made a nice avatar with the dead guy. Rope around the neck with the dead eyes open. Can I use that avatar Mr Moderator?

No. And PM me these questions, don't post them.

Having seen the unofficial video of Saddam Hussein's hanging, I have come to the conclusion that this whole process has been a sad farce.

The killing was reminiscent of the terrorist beheadings of Westerners.

Indeed, it made Saddam look like one hell of a brave man.

The sectarian phrases being tossed at him by the crowd wasn't a good sign either.

It looked like some dark ages execution, it was quite unsettling.

That was what I was alluding to.

It was quite disgraceful to say the least.

Humans disgust me. They haven't changed that much since the days when thousands of them went to the Circus Maximus to enjoy the sight of criminals being fed to the lions.

Only the family and friends of Saddam Hussein should have been allowed to see this.

NBC - Today is shocked that people looked for the unedited version online.

VIDEO - Click Here (NBC - Today)

(There is no warning, this does not contain anything offensive)

Are these people really that ignorant to be suprised at this?

I would have only been suprised if it DIDN'T get it's five minutes of fame online.

Yes, but at least they arrested the heartless bastard who recorded the video of the public assassination execution.

I wonder what they'll actually do to the guy.