[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 21



IRAQ:

Re-evaluating the execution of Hussein


Saddam Hussein, his half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, and former
Iraqi chief judge, Awad Hamed al-Bandar were convicted for the 1982 mass
murder of 148 civilians from Dujail. Hussein was hanged on Dec. 30, 2006,
and his two compatriots were hanged on Jan. 15. The executions were
surrounded by controversy due to the leaked cell phone footage of
Hussein's execution. While the hangings may be distant in our memories, we
hope that Princetonians will reconsider the ethics and pragmatism of these
and other judicial killings.

Though we oppose these executions, we understand the natural desire among
many Iraqis and Americans for justice in the form of capital punishment
for Hussein and his cohorts. In addition to the Dujail massacre, Hussein
was responsible for, among many atrocities, the murder of 100,000 Kurds in
1998. Moreover, many place blame, at least in part, on Hussein for
provoking the American invasion of Iraq that has cost tens of thousands of
lives and has left the country in shambles. If there were any criminal for
whom the death penalty would be appropriate, it would be Hussein. While we
did not shed a tear for Hussein or his allies in their final moments, we
must denounce these executions.

Even in this most extreme of cases, the problematic nature of the death
penalty was exposed to the world. Hussein's execution has sparked
widespread international criticism, further unrest within Iraq and an
increasingly popular view of a terrible despot as a martyr. The tone of
the execution was a mockery of justice. As Hussein stood on the platform
with a noose around his neck, he was abused in his final moments by the
guards who were supposed to be carrying out the Iraqi court's sentence.
Shouts drowned out the plea of the prosecutor: "Please, no. The man is
about to be executed."

After Hussein's hanging, Iraqi officials delayed the executions of Tikriti
and Bandar to review the procedures for hangings. Nevertheless, two weeks
later, Tikriti was decapitated due to inaccurate calculations. Though
Iraqi officials described the botched execution of Tikriti as a "rare
incident," it is indicative of a brutal means of punishment fueled by
vindictiveness. Onlookers taunted Hussein as he walked to the gallows, and
Shiites and Kurds celebrated in Iraq and America at the announcement of
his demise. Capital punishment in this case served no deterrent or public
safety purpose but was the result of public pressure to fulfill base
emotions of hatred and vengeance.

Slobodan Milosevic was charged with war crimes in Kosovo and Croatia and
for genocide in Bosnia and was extradited to The Hague to stand trial.
After the atrocities of the Holocaust, 24 leaders of Nazi Germany stood
trial at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. A panel of judges representing
the Allied Powers adjudicated their sentences. Accused of comparable
crimes, Hussein warranted a similar trial. Because the international
tribunals at The Hague and courts throughout the developed world no longer
authorize capital punishment, the Bush administration made sure that the
trial was carried out in Iraq so that the former tyrant would surely be
executed. Hussein should have been tried in the international arena, and
his trial should have encompassed all of his crimes against humanity.

Perhaps the most troubling of all the implications of the executions in
Iraq has been the new view of Hussein as a hero. The images of the former
dictator facing death calmly under torrents of abuse from his executioners
have resonated in the minds of many Sunni Arabs in the region.

Demonstrators took to the streets in Palestine, Libya, Morocco and
Lebanon. Roula Haddad of Lebanon told The New York Times said, "all our
hatred for [Hussein] suddenly turned into sympathy, sympathy with someone
who was treated unjustly by an occupation force and its collaborators."

Hussein's execution was troubling for several reasons specific to his
circumstances, including the failure to stand trial for war crimes in an
international court and his new status as a martyr. His death was also
indicative of the problems inherent in capital punishment. The desire for
revenge and retribution among the family members of victims is present in
all death penalty cases, and no juror can fail to be influenced by these
strong emotions. Furthermore, though hanging is a particularly gruesome
image in our minds, there is no humane way to kill a human being. This is
evidenced most strongly by the recent decision on the part of the U.S.
Supreme Court to examine the practice of lethal injection as potentially
cruel and unusual. Though the American public is not subjected to the
video footage of state executions, we should not delude ourselves. The
American justice system is not so far removed from the Iraqi version of
justice. When capital punishment fails even in the paradigmatic case of
mass murderers, we ought to reevaluate our commitment to its broader use.

(source: Daily Princetonian; David Christie '10 and Sara Viola '08 write
on behalf of Princeton Coalition Against Capital Punishment.)






JAPAN:

Death penalty for man in suicide website murder case


In Osaka, Prosecutors demanded the death penalty Tuesday for a man
suspected of killing 3 people he got to know through a suicide website in
2005. Hiroshi Maeue, 38, pleaded guilty to the 3 murders during a hearing
at the Osaka District Court, saying he is ready to be sentenced to death.

According to the indictment, Maeue invited a 14-year-old junior high
school student in Kobe for a joint suicide, and then suffocated the
student and dumped his body at a mountain in Izumi, Osaka Prefecture, in
May 2005. Maeue also killed two other people from Osaka  a 25-year-old
woman and a 21-year-old man  between February and June 2005 in a similar
way, the indictment says.

(source: Hipfox)