Has justice been served?
Former Iraqui dictator Saddam Hussein was scheduled to be hanged today, now, at 22:00 EST (06:00 local Iraqui time). Obviously he was a bad man who had many people killed during his regime. But does he deserve to die and doesn't he deserve a more decent way to die than a hanging?I say he deserves this death sentence but should be put out in a more humane way. Hanging is so 19th century. But I suppose they still do these things in foreign countries.
Somehow I can imagine that the negative spin on the whole affair will be blamed on someone else. How about the Americans? Everything else that goes wrong in Iraq seems to be blamed on the American forces still in Iraq.
Here are two stories from ABCnews.com regarding the execution: Saddam #1 and Saddam #2
UPDATE: The deed is done, for better or worse. What a way to die.
This video image released by Iraqi state television shows Saddam Hussein's guards wearing ski masks and placing a noose around the deposed leader's neck moments before his execution Saturday Dec. 30. 2006. Clutching a Quran and refusing a hood, Saddam Hussein went to the gallows before sunrise Saturday, executed by vengeful countrymen after a quarter-century of remorseless brutality that killed countless thousands and led Iraq into disastrous wars against the United States and Iran. (AP Photo/IRAQI TV, HO)
Following his execution early Saturday morning, Saddam Hussein's body was covered with a white shroud. It is uncertain where his body will be buried. (APTN)
posted by Tim @ 22:05
14 Comments:
Death by hanging, if done correctly, is one of the most humane ways to take somebody out. The electric chair is far worse. Besides, the American military still hangs as punishment for treason. We aren't that advanced.
scribe: but that's the key - if it's done correctly. Still, a gruesome way to die, in my opinion...
"But I suppose they still do these things in foreign countries."
As opposed to the good ole US of A where we still execute children and the mentally ill. Yep, we're the advanced ones
And execution, no matter how it's performed is still state sanctioned murder.
This wasn't about justice - it was vengance plain and simple. Which (as i recall) is supposedly the sole province of your god.
"Everything else that goes wrong in Iraq seems to be blamed on the American forces still in Iraq."
Um, maybe it's because we're the ones who went in and ripped the country to shreds, removed any semblance of law and order that existed (the violent crime rate is much higher now than it was before the invasion), and are still arresting,torturing and sumarily executing anybody we damn well please.
I don't suppose any of this would explain why the americans are getting blamed for stuff, does it?
AG: I never said that America is guilt free in this whole Iraq mess and is rightly the cause of it. Nor is America perfect in its foreign policy.
I'll agree that Saddam's death was American backed vengeance and not justice. But it seemed like the majority (or at least those they showed on the news) of the Iraqui people enjoyed seeing him hang. I hope that, when the next US President is elected (becasue it won't happen during the current administration), that he will see Iraq as this generation's Vietnam and get our troops out of there.
Vengeance is the ultimate province of my God. As is grace and forgiveness. For every person both great and small, without exception, will stand before God to give account of their life. I know where you and I both stand in that regard and sadly we are on opposite sides of the fence.
"I say he deserves this death sentence but should be put out in a more humane way."
...
"I'll agree that Saddam's death was American backed vengeance and not justice."
...
"Vengeance is the ultimate province of my God."
See the inconsistancy?
Why is it inhumane to hang an inhmane person? beats me
because d, if killing someone out of vengance is wrong, it's wrong no matter who that person is.
The past few days, a lot of people have tried on variants of "I'm against the death penalty, but if anyone desreves it, he did." This is an ethically incoonsistant argument. If you think he deserved it, than you're not opposed to capital punishment. All you're doing is haggling over who deserves it and who doesn't.
for the record, I'm for capital punishment, when the circumstances warrant. I think it's a better deterrent in the long run than lengthy jail time on taxpayer expense. Perhaps Saddam would have been spared the death penalty if left solely to the Iraquis with no US influence.
Capitol punishment is not murder, in case you were wondering. Sometimes death is a just punishment for crimes committed. In Saddam's case, I believe the atrocities he sanctioned against his own countrymen warranted his execution.
As far as Biblical teaching goes, there is the old saying an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
On God's vengeance, at the instant of death, Saddam's soul is now suffering in the place called Sheol or Hades, which is described nicely by Jesus in Luke 16:19-31. When the time comes, Saddam's soul and body will be reunited and he will stand before God at the final judgment, or second death, described in Revelation 20:11-15.
I never said I was against Capital Punishment. I'm all for it.
What is someone took your little Penguin away from you, AG, and harmed her, or God forbid, killed her? Would YOU turn the other cheek? Would YOU not want the other person to die?
If someone harmed my children, then you betcher AZZ I'd want them dead. I'm only human.
d - of course I'd be beyond all consolation if something like that happened. I imagine i'd probably be tempted towards vengance. But I'd be wrong.
This is why we have a criminal justice system.
And if the person who wronged me ended up swinging from a rope, how exactly would that bring my daughter back?
I think anyone who is for capital punishment is barbaric and I will KILL anybody who disagrees with me!
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