Saddam Hussein's execution: V

[Seamus Fermanagh]

I would prefer the end of the death penalty. Though not the barbarism some claim, the death penalty rarely invokes the angels of our better natures. In this case, I think an aging and incarcerated Saddam -- well treated but marginalized -- might have been the more telling image.

Nevertheless, I also disagree with the earlier comment about the death penalty being wrong "doubly so for national leaders." [paraphrase not quote] Extant power/legal/cultural systems already make it too easy for such leaders to function outside the boundaries of their own legal systems. This tendency should NOT be encouraged. Our leaders cannot and should not be aided in the ability to view/hold themselves as above the law -- it's a byproduct of their power enough already and we should not formalize it.

Public executions have often -- always? -- carried with them a sad comment on humanity's willingness to view them as entertainment. Saddam's was no exception. DA's model would have been better, but human-kind rarely kills its own in such a fashion.

The point is that reveling in his death in any manner should be abhorent. Even if you felt his crimes warranted not only incarceration but death, that death should have been meted out in the same fashion that one would execute a dog gone rabid. It's a menace so you kill it quickly and cleanly and then remove the mess. Perhaps a bit of quiet satisfaction for doing a job professionally that had to be done, but surely no cause for celebration. Celebrating such a thing speaks ill of the celebrant -- Saddam has already gone on to whatever reward awaits him.