A Fitting End for a Dictator?

Good Morning Friends and Countrypeople (and Citypeople too ; )

Perhaps you'll all know this by now, but just in case reading my little blog is more imperative than reading real news, I will provide a bit of my own news coverage today. According to Iraqi news media, Saddam Hussein was hanged just around 0600 local time on Saturday (their local time, not mine).

Here are some links if you want all the salacious details...

From the CBC:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/12/29/saddam-dead.html

From the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6218485.stm

I'm pretty sure that everyone who's ever read an article or seen a story on Saddam has an opinion about him and his 'crimes against humanity'. I would never deny that he has committed any: I don't really know. He has been found guilty in a court of law (I won't deal with the legality of that court here, it's not my purpose), and thus (according to our social contract) he should be punished for his actions.

My topic for today is: What should that punishment be?

The question is whether or not any of our crimes should be dealt with by death. I'm not personally a fan of the death penalty. I don't believe that 'an eye for an eye' brings justice to anyone concerned. If I steal from you, taking my hand will not return your goods, it will only serve to fulfill your sense of vengeance, and cause more animosity and resentment (and perhaps more need for crime) in the world. It has nothing to do with justice. Revenge is not justice. If I kill your child, I have committed a wrong and I deserve to be punished. Is it right then to do the exact same thing in return to me? Is it okay just because it is state-sanctioned? Again, it is essentially just vengeance. I am not going to split hairs and discuss whether or not innocent people may be executed by mistake. I'm just talking about the guilty ones here (this is theoretical). Even if I am guilty: there is incontrovertible proof, and I have confessed to premeditated murder, how is it just to do the same to me? Capital punishment is clearly premeditated. It is the deliberate taking of a human life. It is not just.

However, if you're not worried about justice and you're simply practical, then you might be in favour of capital punishment for the following reasons: as a deterrent (to others), as a method of removing the offender from society completely, and as an efficient way to deal with criminals (especially tryannical dictators perhaps). I think that it is relatively safe to say that we (as a society) have not been sucessful at rehabilitating criminals after a certain developmental stage (in fact, some stats show that prison is where many criminals become better criminals), so yes, the cost of incarcerating criminals can be a factor if you are more concerned with the bottom line than with justice. The bottom line ($), of course, being the end-all and be-all in the capitalist world. (Wow, I used the word criminals 4 times in one sentence!)

I'm sure that many of us have heard the same arguments (as listed above) for capital punishment, plus others perhaps. I've also heard people say that they were only in favour of the death penalty in extreme cases (e.g. Clifford Robert Olson). The biggest problem with that argument though is that it's difficult to draw a line. What exactly constitues an extreme case? Is it the depravity of the crime? Is it the number of deaths the person is responsible for? Is it the intent? And who decides where these lines are drawn? Can they be discretionary? What about Saddam and his crimes against humanity? What was his intent? Does he qualify as a serial killer? Did he actually kill people?

I'm not suggesting that Saddam Hussein is not guilty of anything or that he should not be punished. I'm simply suggesting that we do not have the answers to these questions. I'm also suggesting that the premeditated killing of people is never just, regardless of the cost of incarceration. When we let vengeance rule, we are allowing ourselves to be ruled by a 'mob mentality'. I've been told that I'm naive and that I would think differently if I had kids. Who can say? I can, however, say that exacting revenge as a society upon a criminal in a time where we need not do so to protect ourselves from that person (as an immediate threat) does not feel at all like enlightenment to me. In fact, it seems to be very visceral, violent and blood-thirsty. Especially when the dictator is hanged.

That's all for now!

Drive safe peeps,