Saddam to Hang

The appeals court has upheld the death sentence for Saddam Hussein, former dictator of Iraq. He is to be hanged within 30 days. Saddam is currently on trial for more crimes. If hanged before that trial ends, the trial will continue.

I am a proponent of the death penalty, but I never, even in this case, rejoice when someone is sentenced to death. I can't help but feel that sometime, this person deviated from a path where they could have been an asset to society.

If Saddam had never deviated from his original path, perhaps he could have lead Iraq into becoming a world power. With the oil Iraq has, the potential was there. But he chose a different path where he became a tyrant. Elections were held, but the citizens of Iraq had no choice but to vote for him. The women of Iraq, if they caught the eye of one or the other of his sons, knew they could be kidnapped and raped. In a world where women must remain virgins, this was devastating. And there could be no retribution. Fathers and brothers, and even husbands who protested could just disappear. That's if the woman was returned to her family and not murdered.

If a man chose to speak out again Saddam, he could be tortured and killed. The details of the torture can be found in any number of places. I won't describe what happened; it's so gruesome I can't bring myself to even try. When you think about the tortured being killed, you might think about hanging, being beaten to death, shot, stabbed, and maybe other methods of murder. Think about being shredded. Yes, that was an option.

No, I can't rejoice, but I can say that, in my opinion, it's just.