Saddam Husseins Execution - Your Thoughts?

[eldragon]

Last night Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging.

I'm against the death penalty, even though I can't mourn this guy. It just goes against my beliefs to kill someone. I think putting him behind bars for the rest of his life (and he was 69 years old and in poor health) would have been fine.

Especially if he had been kept in a US prison, secluded. There would have been no way he could have escaped or been broke out by friends.

I also feel uneasy about this, because the US went in and got him, and that makes me uncomfortable. The war in Iraq is far from over, in fact, December 2006 ws the deadliest month for US soldiers. The death count for US soldiers is almost 3000 now.

Any thoughts?

[palefrost]

Last night Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging.

I'm against the death penalty, even though I can't mourn this guy. It just goes against my beliefs to kill someone. I think putting him behind bars for the rest of his life (and he was 69 years old and in poor health) would have been fine.

Especially if he had been kept in a US prison, secluded. There would have been no way he could have escaped or been broke out by friends.

I also feel uneasy about this, because the US went in and got him, and that makes me uncomfortable. The war in Iraq is far from over, in fact, December 2006 ws the deadliest month for US soldiers. The death count for US soldiers is almost 3000 now.

Any thoughts?

In any decision that was made we should never have a part in it, it must be there own to kill there own or sentence otherwise. If we interfere more than we have then we threaten to make a martyr and that will open a problem more than we ever want to do.
As for the right to do it, they certainly have enough to warrent it, the countless kurds dead and the retaliation attack for a near assasination attempt on Saddam.

[eldragon]

Well, it's history now, that's for sure.

His brothers or half-brothers will be exucuted on Thursday.


The thing is :Saddam, guilty or innocent, had no chance, really. Even though I'm sure he is guilty - what would innocent have made our war look like?

[tater03]

I don't know I am torn on this one. I usually don't really agree with the death penelty but this man was a madman. I don't really blame the people of Iraq wanting him dead. I cannot help but wonder though what was going through his mind at the very end?

[eldragon]

The taunting at the end really bothers me.

He looked scared and yet, mad at the peolple shouting.

Can you imagine what he was thinking? "I'm about to die, and these guys are yelling at me?"

[reviewer]

Personally, I am against the death penalty - even for Saddam. I won't cry for him, I hope it helps, but I can't help but think the world would be a better place if we didn't use violence (even state-sanctioned) to solve issues.

[eldragon]

His execution didn't help or seriously change the quagmire that is going on over there, one bit.


The only good thing about Saddam was the fact that he had control over Iraq, something we'll never be able to do.

[reviewer]

Yes, but he was a tyrant. I'm just not sure if the number of people who he did kill - and he did kill many people - is going to be any less by the violent regime that will ultimately take power.

[Melos]

Well, it all really comes down to what you believe about the death penalty. Is it to punish him, or to prevent him from doing what he did again? It won't prevent others from doing it, that's for sure. I have no problem with him being killed, but I do think that the Iraqi govt. went about the actual execution badly.

[capitalist_junkie]

I'm against the death penalty for a number of reasons. First, I'm a pacifist. Second, the death penalty does abslutely nothing to stop crime. It's not only inhumane, it's ineffective.

I don't care what atrocities a person has committed; it's not right to take their life. If Saddam was guilty (I believe he was), then he should be punished, but death is never the proper punishment. How can somebody repent and learn if they're dead?