Should Saddam Hussein hang?

[Mancie]

Saddam has been tried in an Iraqi court under Iraqi law..not by the USA or Britian and under Iraqi law you can be sentenced to hang for lesser crimes than the murder of thousands of men,women and children.
I can understand some people opposing the death penalty full stop, but in some cases it just is not right for a mass murderer to be punished by simply having his freedom taken away.

[WillowTheWhisp]

I think ultimately the decision should lie with those who tried him - i.e. the Iraqi court. Unfortunately there are two opposing factions in Iraq and if you think of it in terms of the N. Ireland conflict then it helps get it into perspective. The Sunnis and Shi'ites are killing each other without any outside help.

[jambutty]

Well so far we have a hung jury, which is something that I didn’t expect. I expected that most people would opt for getting rid of SH once and for all.

He was tried by an Iraqi court appointed by a democratically elected government SPUGGIE J, defended by Iraqi lawyers and prosecuted by Iraqi prosecutors. So to take him out of the country to serve a life term wouldn’t be legal. Even so, which country would be willing to take him and his cohorts and risk the fanatical retribution of the Sunni fundamentalists?

I agree with your SPUGGIE J that this is one humungous hot potato but in my view the best of two bad options is to hang him if that is what due process decrees.

i) The death penalty is always wrong as it is a hallmark of any brutal and oppressive regime.

Would you call the UK a brutal and oppressive regime when we still had the death penalty glasgow guy?

ii) His sentence is due to a slaughter that took place in 1982, but the UK and the USA were supplying him with arms well after that. Why did no-one object then, yet it is worthy of a death sentence now?

That verdict was just one of several charges. In any case is it right to charge the maker of a gun when that gun is used to kill someone illegally? Can Ford be held responsible for the death of an innocent person at the hands of a drunken driver. Or the brewery that supplied the drink? No of course not! That’s absolutely ridiculous. However there are further charges being prosecuted one of which relates to the killing of thousands of Kurds during the late 1980’s. It has been estimated that SH has been guilty of some 200,000 killings right up to the day that he was captured and in his name afterwards.

iii) How many innocent Iraqi lives are Bush and Blair responsible for taking, and will those two ever face the death penalty for their crimes against humanity...If Saddam is a murderer, the previous Prime Minsters and Presidents are surely guilty of aiding and abetting??

An interesting view point and worthy of debate. Sadly you will be trying to get the perpetrators to charge themselves so it is really a non starter.

Definately NO. I believe that God, & only God can take a life.

Is that the same God that ordered the death of non believers in biblical times AccyJay? Is that the same God that demanded the killing of people as a sacrifice to him?

No matter what the crime, nobody has the right to take another persons life.

Agreed but there has to be a deterrent to try and prevent the crime from happening. Following your religious lead, doesn’t the bible state an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?

Would the hangman not then be a murderer?

No! The hangman is carrying out the orders of the government and courts much in the same way that a soldier is carrying out his orders when he shoots and kills one of the enemy.

A coincidence is what it is kash. No one could predict how long the trial took. In any case if SH had not tried to disrupt the trial it would have ended weeks if not months ago. Apart from that he is still on trial for other crimes against humanity.

If he hangs - god help us here in the uk and america and to everyone in iraq. There will be revenge attacks. I havent voted for the simple reason i dont know. One with everything he did he deserves to hang but Two we dont want revenge attacks at our soldiers in iraq and afghanistan or attacks in this country.

Yes there are likely to be revenge attacks by the SH supporters shillelagh but they grow fewer by the day. However there would still be revenge attacks tinged with attempts to free him if he was just imprisoned for life. Imagine the scenario, kidnapping many foreign workers who are trying to rebuild Iraq and then demanding the release of SH for their release. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

The bulk of the Iraqi people want peace and a chance to get on with their lives without fear of being blown to pieces.

[madmal_1]

then dosent that make him god he took lives

Originally Posted by AccyJay

Definately NO. I believe that God, & only God can take a life. No matter what the crime, nobody has the right to take another persons life. Would the hangman not then be a murderer?

[armani]

he shud burn like guy faulks did as someone said then bonfire night will become the biggest party night of the year the f****** W*****

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by armani

he shud burn like guy faulks did as someone said then bonfire night will become the biggest party night of the year the f****** W*****

Guy Fawkes was executed though

[accymel]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

Guy Fawkes was executed though

Yeh he got hung drawn & quartered but watched a docu tother night & they said they cut ropes just before dying of hanging & cut his bits off in front of him

[Church Boy]

I say Saddam should be made to rot in a dungeon,& tended to by Kurdish volunteers,who I'm sure would feed him very HHHalal food.Also, there are some people who wish to heap scorn on Tony & George.Let me assure you,You would not even be whispering such scorn if Saddam was your boss.Yep, that's free speech.Nice,isn't it.Church Boy,Sydney, Australia.

[SPUGGIE J]

At the end of the day if they keep bringing other charges and whatever else they can think of to charge him with he might be around for a few years yet. How long would the appeal take? We know within 30 days they will stretch his neck but that could be 2 years from now. Ironically they didnt have TIC's over there which would have saved a hell of a lot of time considering they are after him for crimes against humanity.

Even though he could have the death sentance commuted to life how long would he last before an "accident" or "natural causes" claimed him? If imprisoned for life if that is decided by the Iraqi courts then they are obliged to keep him safe but I bet they couldnt guarentee that so I still maintain he should be taken from the country. Its ironic the the humanitarian laws he is charged under also mean he has to be kept alive with due care and attention if imprisoned for life.

[Tealeaf]

I'm somewhat surprised by this thread; surprised, not by the title - of course the b*ggar should hang - but by the amount of pinko liberal do-gooders on this forum who have popped out of the closet to say no to capital punishment. Seventeen at the last count, I have no doubt now the number will rise although at one time I thought we wouldn't have that number in the whole of Accy. Still, there's a few exiles on there to make up the numbers.

Anyone taking any bets on whether he'll squeal when the big day comes or whether he'll take it like a man?

[jambutty]

The purpose of starting this thread was to find out what people think and not to condemn then for having their own view.

In a democracy that we all enjoy it is everyone’s right to voice their opinion without being subjected to name calling.

An apology to those who disagree with you would not go amiss Tealeaf.

[LancYorkYankee]

Originally Posted by LancYorkYankee

I voted H*LL yes!

Brian

Just in case I didn't make my "opinion" clear: D*mn Straight! Hang the Bl**dy B*st*rd!

Tealeaf, hardly ever one to come to the aid of "pinko liberal do-gooders on this forum." I believe some of the no votes were explained as hanging is too good for him. Please correct me if I'm wrong "pld-g." Maybe jambutty could have added something to the effect: Is hanging too good for him?

Just a thought. jambutty, I appreciate your threads like this that challenge our thought processes and convictions!

Brian

[Neil]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Well so far we have a hung jury

We don't really. Several people who voted no said they thought hanging was too good for him.

[panther]

does it really matter how he dies? as long as the ***t dies!!!! chop him up (while still breathing and conscious) and feed him to the pigs!!

[Stanaccy]

I voted no as I do not believe any individual or group of individuals has the right to take a life.

Is state sponsored murder any different from any other form?

Yes gaol him for life, yes make it hard for him, something like the Bangkok Hilton mayhap, yes I agree for crimes such as his life should mean life.

One other point though, as mentioned earlier US an UK foriegn policy in the 70s and 80s had a lot to do with his tyranical regime. However one thing that cannot be allowed to happen is the aiding and abetting of western countries to help him to escape as happened with Idi Amin.