With the conviction of Hussein come mixed reactions as to whether capital punishment should be allowed in any country.  What do you think? 

Mixed reactions?  To say the least.  While he is a despicable abomination, if he is hung, he becomes a martyr.  If he is sentenced to life in prison, he becomes a living cause for all of his lunatic followers, as well as a living symbol to energize his opposition to destroy all he stood for.

Is there a solution?  One that will work for both sides?  Of course not.  One that will work for the rest of the world? I don't think so for that either.  Although complete and total humiliation of someone like that works for me.  So, have him scrub toilets with his toothbrush, or do some awful, terrible menial task?  I don't have an answer.  All I know is that people like that are the epitome of pure evil.

I have changed my personal views on capital punishment over the years.  I used to be a proponent of it.  But, time and time again, people sentenced to die (and some who have been executed) have later been found not guilty.  That's why I'll vote against reinstating the death penalty in Wisconsin.  Am I right?  Possibly.  Will people disagree with me?  Definitely.  I have no answers, only my feelings.  And while it is difficult to see someone who is an affront to all humanity allowed to live, how can you reconcile that with the possible death of an innocent person?

As far as I'm concerned, the best solution for Saddam has already been lost.  If he would have died without ceremony in the "war" the outcome would have been far better than either sentencing him to death now, or prison for life.  All of this media build up and over exposure of the issue can only serve to make the problem more dramatic.  True, kiling Saddam will create a convenient martyr for the cause, but there is reason to believe that the effect will fade with time.  A person can only die once after all.  If he remains alive, constantly fighting his battle from behind bars, defiantly thumbing his nose at the new government, he will be a constant reminder to fight on for the insurgents.  While I am not a major supporter of capitol punishment in all cases, or even in most cases,  I believe that it serves the greater good of humanity to remove him from the living world.

The quicker it is carried out the better I think. I also think it is acceptable. It is their country and if 'they want to have capital punishment... they should be able to! I think it is a more than fair "punishment, for how many lives he painfully took. There isn't anything they could really to do be equal to the pain he has caused so many people.

I saw an interesting editorial cartoon in today's paper.  In it, Saddam is standing on the gallows, with the noose hanging down.  However, the noose is a fuse and it is attached to the gallows as a stick of dynamite, which is labeled "Iraq". Sad, but true.

It doesn't really matter if he goy hung or got a lifetime in prison. The only thing the US government wanted was for him to lose the trial because if he didn't, The Iraq war would ahev looked like a failure. I don't ant to get into the war too much, i'm getting sick of it.

I've found myself saying this alot lately "Support the troops. Not the mission."