I was awakened early this morning by a lovely phone call from my brother. While we chatted he mentioned Saddam had been executed just an hour or so earlier. After hanging up I went to several major news sites and read the articles pertaining to his death.
Even as I write this a lump is in my throat. Not simply for Saddam but for Iraq in general. I’m emotional – frustrated and saddened at the news of capital punishment in a place where death and chaos already reign. The thought of celebrations erupting make me sick to my stomach.
One quote stood out as particularly upsetting: “Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him” by Iraqi judge al-Maliki. The preservation of life at all costs is a human right, not the ability to end it.
I don’t doubt that there will be some celebrating – in Iraq, in the region, and in America. People will undoubtedly say, “Good riddance, he deserved to die… the world is a slightly better place now.” Yes, he did many evil things – he deserved to be brought to trial for crimes against humanity and for killing Kurds and others but I don’t support capital punishment – not even for a man like Saddam. By encouraging the Iraqis to continue with state-sponsored killing it has ensured that many in the future will be unjustly and unfairly put to death, and that this savage practice will continue in yet another country.
I refuse to accept killing as a form of punishment for killing. I can’t accept it on moral grounds, political grounds, or religious grounds. In America we have one of the best judicial branches in the world, with technological capabilities during trials that most places in the world only dream of, and yet, we have repeatedly wrongly executed innocent men and women. (Even the term “wrongly executed” is a nice way for saying murdered by the state with our tax dollars.)
I know there are pro-lifers who disagree and mourn when a baby fetus is purposely killed, but don’t mourn when criminals are put to death; I’m not one of them – I believe life is sacred from conception to death. For the security of the majority some should be locked away, but killing does not vindicate anything – execution is just another kind of tragedy.
My prayer is that the tide will swing with my generation and that we will become more progressive in ensuring the fundamental right to life for all people – even those of criminals.
15 Responses to “Execution”
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Twitter: EstherCrawford
- @jeffreine that bridge gives me chills
- @jeffreine yep! and watched tv ... I'm pretty sure every night should end like that
- @soccerhaus it was pretty hilarious... then another couple came in and started making out too.. it never ended
January 4th, 2007 at 1:10 am
I see your point Esther; however, people are inherently born with a sinful nature. I think it is important to put yourself in the shoes of an Iraqi woman who’s husband had been killed, daughter was raped repeatedly by him or one of his sons, and son was killed for no real reason at all. If I was in those shoes, I have to admit that this is what I would want. I think it would bring me closure somehow for the great pain that I had suffered. So I pose the question for you. What would be a justifiable punishment for his crimes? I hardly think that prison would suffice. I can’t see providing him with a warm bed, food, and protection from people who would want him killed.
Hope all is well in the UK, seems like you had a great time with Nick over the Christmas season!
January 3rd, 2007 at 8:08 pm
the US is in some auspicious company with our use of the death penalty.
chris is right, though–governments define their legitimacy in their right to kill. why this right should be granted or reserved to governments is beyond me. maybe if we hadn’t killed him, if we had simply condemned him to spend the remained of his days in introspection, then he might have repented. to use so blatantly a religious justification.
i dunno. on the one hand, the bastard had it coming, and if anyone deserved to die for his misdeeds, it was him. on the other hand, i’m against the death penalty on principle, and i universally apply that principle, which means that i think he should not have been executed.
thanks for your thoughts, though.
January 2nd, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Extenguishing life is wrong. They gray in your background somehow adds to the discussion.
I didn’t know Donna was born of the first and grandma’s turning 81 this month. We should do something…I know, you should come home and surprise her. Yeah, that’s a great idea.
January 1st, 2007 at 3:08 pm
If capital punishment is practiced in a country, I think he would be a good candidate. I’m no fan of it, but if it’s the law… My concern is that other people guilty of the same and worse – around the world – are not being prosecuted.
December 31st, 2006 at 2:59 pm
His murder will never make up for the lives that were lost at his hands. It just doesn’t make any since to me. We play God when we take another mans life. Whether we think he deserves it or not. It doesn’t solve anything. It just fuels more Anger, Hatred, & Revenge.
December 31st, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Esther I blogged about your post. Here is the entry.
December 31st, 2006 at 1:48 pm
I have no position either way. Both sides of the argument seem to have major flaws.
December 31st, 2006 at 11:37 am
You have clear logical thinking on this, and I do not disagree with the idea that “two wrongs do not make a right”. Yet, look at Romans 13 and Genesis 9, and consider the hardness of this issue in balancing right judgment, and I can tell you there is not one right answer, but I believe the best for all people is a firm regard for human life that requires the murderer to die for his wrong. Give a fair trial, hear the circumstances, consider mercy vs judgment, then do what seems right. (See my blog on Capitol Punishment.) :-?
December 31st, 2006 at 10:56 am
I have to say that I had mixed feeling about this one but I believe that you have swayed me to agree with you. It is the old saying: two wrongs don’t make a right! I love these kind of posts from you!!!!!!!!!!!11
We sure did miss you at Christmas…but am glad you had the one you love there with you!
Love ya!
December 31st, 2006 at 9:18 am
It’s a reminder that government is defined by its right to legitimate murder. I’m pretty sure that I categorically oppose capital punishment. The test of any moral stance is the extreme case. If you oppose capital punishment, then you must even oppose it for a demon like Saddam.
And no, justice has not been done. Saddam killed thousands upon thousands of people. He can only die once for it. It’s absurd to think that we have evened some kind of score with his death. It may be what he deserved, but it is not justice. Justice is peace.
December 31st, 2006 at 12:48 am
Kirsten and I agree with your feelings. Peace will not come to Iraq through his death. In the riots surrounding the hanging, 70 or so people died…those deaths seem to have been overlooked. Until we realize that killing only breeds more killing and fuels an already blazing fire, our world will not know peace. I hope that we are part of the generation that helps the world to realize that we have a choice to live differently than the past generations.
December 30th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
Justice has been done. It may not have been pretty, but it was the right thing to do.
December 30th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Yeah, it’s sad. I didn’t want to read the news stories about it, but they are pretty much the top headline right now. I know he did a lot of evil things, but he still had a god-given soul and life. I should never be happy at seeing those things taken away.
December 30th, 2006 at 10:04 am
I’m normally one of those pro-lifers who manages to be pro-life at ALL aspects of life, conception to death. But ~ should we not be pro-Iraqi-life as well? This is what keeps stopping me from opposing Saddam’s death ~ because he was the cause of SO MUCH death in his country (and no, this is not just right-wing rhetoric spouting, I don’t think anyone can argue that this man is unspeakably evil). Picture an Iraqi woman who has lost her sons and husband and brothers and father to this dictator ~ do we tell her that those lives are expendable, but the man who caused them…to him we’ll show mercy? I happen to agree with YOU on this, Esther, but I can see the other side too. It’s a tough issue.
December 30th, 2006 at 9:13 am
I also find this disheartening. Perhaps the best punishment for Saddam would have been to let him alone with his life and crimes until Whatever Is Out There takes him. We should not doubt the power of forced introspection.
I’m also concerned that the method of execution–hanging–was not opposed by the U.S. since that is considered cruel and unusual punishment. It seems a bit contradictory to talk of freedom and justice and not attempt to apply the same rights we as Americans enjoy to others. This is of course made worse by justifying the Iraq War by an attempt to spread democracy and a better way of life to that region. In other words, “Do as we say, not as we do.”