So, Iraqis don't mete out justice the way Americans do. Whether it's preferable to wait seventeen years to execute a murderer or to rush for the hangman's noose a few months after the verdict is open for debate. So is the whole notion of capital punishment. What seems beyond debate is Saddam Hussein's guilt. He ordered the deaths of untold thousands. Many more died in a less direct manner because of his policies of war and oppression. He lived by the sword. He died by it too. On Saturday--in Iraq, not the U.S.--the Iraqi government executed the former Iraqi head of state. There may be violent repurcussions in Iraq as a result of Hussein's execution. Elsewhere, there may be non-violent ones. Might Saddam Hussein have thought twice had there been precedent for punishing murderers who run states? Alas, the state, somewhat unsurprisingly, has shown a greater enthusiasm for punishing those who rebel against it than punishing those who use the state for lawlessness.
If one is prone to pre-meditated slaughter as Saddam was, there is nothing that will deter them. Even with the knowledge that if they get caught, there is a strong likelihood that they will be executed for their crimes, they will continue their murderous ways because monsters like him have no conscience and their egos prevent them from having any thought that they will be caught, much less killed for their crimes.
From all reports, this guy went to his death still shocked that he was going to be executed.
Let's forget about thinking of this as a deterrent, let's just revel in the reality that another defective human is no longer on the planet and as a consequence will never harm another person.
We should take a lesson from the Iraqis.
The death penalty is not a deterrent. Neither should we revel in its use. Properly administered (as in this case), it is justice.
I revel in the fact that when an execution takes place, a defective human is taken off the planet. They will no longer harm another living soul. Yes, it's justice, but it's also piece of mind and I think it gives some of us a certain level of comfort.
