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November 05, 2006
Saddam sentenced to years of legal appeals (and maybe an execution)
So, Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.
What a waste of time and money. I'm in favor of the same treatment Winston Churchill wanted for the Nazis: line them up and shoot them all as soon as possible. It was the Soviets, enamored of show trials, like the ones they used to murder thousands of their political enemies, who wanted a lengthy series of highly-publicized judicial proceedings.
And Americans, obsessed even then with the appearance of fairness and process, sided with Joe Stalin.
I'm with John Hinderaker at Powerline.
As I've written before, the whole idea of "trying" Saddam is foolish. His countless crimes are known to the Iraqi people, and the world, beyond the ability of any judicial proceeding to prove or disprove. The only potential question of fact is whether the man in the dock is the tyrant Saddam, and that fact is not disputed.
Saddam should have been shot years ago. A commission of inquiry, not a court, should have been established to interview witnesses and make an official record off Saddam's reign. Keeping Saddam alive, more or less forever, contributes to keeping the Sunni insurgency alive, more or less forever. At this point, dispensing with Saddam is far more important than treating the Iraqis to "numerous" additional prosecutions.
Like Captain Ed, I'm generally opposed to the death penalty, but when we're dealing with world-class tyrants like Stalin, Hitler and Mao, or would-be genocidal madmen like Hussein and Idid Amin, or even murderous thugs in backwaters like Romania's Ceaucescu, there's no need for trials.
We know what they've done, and there's no question of innocence. Let's just cut to the chase and get to the pictures, like those of Mussolini strung up like a pinata, the once-might laid low.
That's justice.
Posted by Mike Lief at November 5, 2006 08:08 AM
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Comments
As a practicing Catholic, I, too, disdain the use of the death penalty except in extreme cases. Only if a prisoner remains a danger to others, himself, and is unrehabilitatable does the Church teach that the death penalty is warranted. Everyone is given an opportunity for repentance and mercy.
Saddam, even while in prison during his trial, had judges and attorneys assassinated. He remains a danger to society, and thus warrants a swift execution, where he can no longer influence others to continue his reign of terror from behind prison walls.
Posted by: sonarman at November 5, 2006 04:22 PM