should saddam be executed?

from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/4349406.stm

Head to head: Should Saddam die?

If Saddam Hussein is convicted in a trial which begins on Wednesday, he could face death within 30 days of a final judgement - meaning other serious charges against the former ruler could be shelved.

Many Iraqis feel a man responsible for so much suffering should face the ultimate punishment, and quickly. But others fear a sentence that smacks of summary justice could seriously undermine the new authorities' stated commitment to justice and the rule of law.

The BBC News website invited two figures on either side of the debate to answer the question: If found guilty, should Saddam Hussein face death?

DR BAHA AL-WAKIL, THE SUPREME COUNCIL FOR ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAQ (SCIRI)

If Saddam Hussein is found guilty, he should be sentenced to death and executed straight away. If we wait until he has been tried for all the crimes he committed, we would be waiting forever.

Millions of people were affected by his regime. You can barely find a house or home where someone or more than one was not either executed, or killed in a war, or went missing under this regime. Find me an Iraqi who doesn't support Saddam's swift execution.

We have to show the people that we have done justice by killing this tyrant. Anything less means we are cheating our people. Under the slogan of a "new Iraq", do we let this man and his gang get away with all the atrocities and crimes committed over 35 years?

Iraqis need to know that Saddam is dead. There are many Iraqis who are still fearful that he could come back. The majority of people want to be assured that Saddam has been killed.

Then we have a minority of ex-Baath regime members or those from his town or those terrorists trying to kill a lot of people. They want him back. They hope one day America might give him a pardon and he might come back. They want the US to leave Iraq so they can dominate and get him back in power.

Look what is happening in Iraq now - every day, we have massacres and atrocities of innocent people. You have to say: "Stop. Killing is equal to killing. If you kill, you must be killed." And this has to be done in front of everyone so people will know this will never again be tolerated in Iraq.

I am not suggesting the violence will stop if Saddam dies. However, if you don't kill him, and if the trial drags on and on and on, that will incite yet more violence.

RICHARD DICKER, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE AT HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

First of all, for justice to be done these trials have to be fair. Regardless of how horrible the crimes they are charged with, the accused and their lawyers must have the ability and the means to conduct a vigorous and effective defence.

If that doesn't happen, the process will deteriorate, I fear, into a political show trial. Show trials, while satisfying vengeance and the urge for retribution, are not tantamount to justice.

Now, should Saddam Hussein be found guilty, when it comes to his being executed the death penalty is a cruel and inhuman punishment that violates the right to life and the prohibition against torture. I know well how strongly many Iraqis feel about Saddam and others. But to impose the death penalty on these individuals will be a throwback to the ancien regime - it will suggest business as usual in terms of cruel and inhuman punishment.

I don't think the only way of removing him from the nightmares of the victims and survivors is to put him to death. I think he can be incarcerated in a manner that can preclude his ever returning to power.

And if in fact Saddam Hussein is convicted, he must have the right to appeal. This is a fundamental condition of a fair trial. I would take strong exception to the proposal that conviction should lead to execution of sentence without the right to appeal.

Even the fairest of trials will not, in the short term, change the hearts and minds of the opponents of a new way of doing things. That being said, if the trial is conducted in a shoddy, shabby way, the effect sadly will be to delegitimise the process itself - it will give ammunition to those who say nothing has changed, and the only way to address complaints or articulate opposition is through violence.





i don't think they should kill him. if they're gonna excute him for murder, shouldn't they be executed for it as well? come on, who do they think they are? saddam hussein?

everybody and i mean everybody, should have the opportunity to redeem themselves, whether they're planning on doing so or not. that's why we have free will. and it's not like he's gonna live forever anyways, we're all gonna die.... so my suggestion would be torture. put him through hell for the rest of his time here.

so what yall think?

i've not read the story, but here are my thoughts on what they should do...

i agree he shouldn't be executed but tortured, althought its not politically correct but neither were all the things he's done, we know he won't be tortured, or if he is it will be kept secret, they ain't gonna make it public knowledge that he's being tortured cos of all the stupid human rights activists/groups,, i'm not agains't them but some of the people they try to help, its like they don't even care what they have done to other people...

I say they should chain his ass up and start slicing off fingers, turn him over 100 % to the iraqies, WE might not torture prisoners but how can we tell the people from iraq how to treat theirs?

Saddam victomized the people of iraq and it should be their dessicion how to deal with him, not ours, I also just heard that if he is executed they may broadcast it on T.V.

I support whatever choice is made for him because its clear he wont get away with whats he's done