Posted by Dave on 12/30/06 at 09:16:34 am
Categories: Capital Punishment

As you all know, Saddam Hussein was killed last night.

You all know my thoughts on the death penalty. And this case is no different.

Saddam was an evil man - one of the worst. And he committed terrible atrocities.

But killing him does NO good. Not one person that Saddam killed has come back to life. Not one family has had the damage repaired. All it does it quench the thirst for vengeance.

And people will continue to die in Iraq.

And the cycle of violence continues.

UPDATE: At least one church/denomination is speaking up. From the Catholic Church:

Saddam's execution punishes "a crime with another crime. ... The death penalty is not a natural death. And no one can give death, not even the state." - Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI's top prelate for justice issues.

And from Human Rights Watch:

"The test of a government's commitment to human rights is measured by the way it treats its worst offenders. History will judge these actions harshly." - Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program.

And from Jesse Jackson:

"It will not increase our moral authority in the world. ... Saddam's heinous crimes against humanity can never be diminished, but he was our ally while he was doing it. ... Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth will make us blind and disfigured. ... Saddam as a war trophy only deepens the catastrophe to which we are indelibly linked." - the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

I long to have an American politician step up and say that the execution is wrong. Is anybody willing?

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