Hangman

I watched the execution of Saddam Hussain today. I guess I was more concerned about the lack of picture quality than anything else. I read at a bunch of sites that the footage was disturbing and brought home the depth of man's inhumanity to man. Maybe I've been practicing law for too long. I just didn't see that. I could barely see what was happening at all.

In almost every scenario I am opposed to the death penalty. Justice requires a length appellate process for such a final penalty, and often the cost of that process outweighs the cost of lifetime incarceration. I also don't like the government in the business of execution, except I guess when there is a war to fight - I don't believe pacifism is a real world solution to those with murderous intent. Perhaps even the biblical parable to turn the other cheek, presumes there is a cheek at all to turn after an initial encounter.

Where I really start having a problem is with people who commit genocide, or something I will dub ecocide. The deliberate singling out and extermination of a group of people, or the destruction of the environment on a massive scale. Saddam fails on both counts. My only hesitancy in applying the death penalty in such a situation is that it is precisely the people who can wield such power that by failing to examine them, we may condemn ourselves to re-live the experience with their successors.

So I'm relieved that he is dead. Only its unfortunate that it had to happen as it did. My first choice would have been trial at The Hague. I think that would have been a much more fitting end for Saddam, but with the US rejection of international law, I'm not sure that was ever a possibility. And I still can't stop myself from wondering, why didn't we just kill Saddam a long time ago? I mean you don't have to invade an entire country to assassinate its leader. Not my first choice, but on the off chance it would have spared the lives of thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, I'd be willing to live with that solution. I'm fairly confident that the assassination of foreign leaders is already in our repetoire. And even if it isn't, the only compelling reason against it (aside from that pesky executive order) is because it would clearly open the possibility of a quid pro quo. Even with some of our best presidents I think that might be a better than fair trade. We don't have a king to give you see.