Saddam hangs

Thou shall not kill shouldn't have exceptions.

The actual commandment is "Thou shall not commit murder". Generally, and from a legal standpoint, state authorized killing (as in war or the death penalty) is not considered "murder" but rather justified homicide. IMO, "Thou shall not kill" is one of those over generalizations of judaeo/christian wisdom that is simply wrong. If necessary, I guarrantee you I will use deadly force to defend my wife and child and, so long as I do so appropriately, I do not believe that God will view me as a sinner or that the State will punish me as a murderer. Thou shalt not kill has many exceptions that, traditionally, have been acceptable to both the state and most religions.

I am on the fence about the death penalty and believe that the circumstances dictate its use. I oppose the death penalty when it is being used for mainly vengence but, when it is truly being used as penalty considered to be just for the crime committed, the death penalty can be appropriate. The question (and area for incredible disagreement) always is whether or not a killing is being made for vengence or justice.

In this case, while individuals are seeking vengence against Saddam, the State of Iraq is (hopefully) saying: Your gross misuse and abuse of power that led to the killing of thousands (perhaps millions) of innocents entrusted to your care demands that you be killed - not to avenge their deaths but as a statement to the world and to all future rulers of Iraq that they will be held accountable for their actions.

I tried creating a political thread once....once.

All of you that are in support of the death sentence are totally forgetting about how this is just gonna cause more sectarian violence...political leaders get treated differently..period that is how it is...no one gets hanged nowadays bc it is barbaric and as a civilization we have moved beyond that..even tho the criminal may have been barbaric.

Yeah it isnt fair, but he should have gotten a different judgement, if the court system in place was not based on anger and retaliation this would not happen. He should not have been killed...only exacerbates the problem.

Hooskins is right - it will exacerbate the problem. That said, the fundamental differences between the Shia and the Sunni are so deep and so rooted in hate right now, I don't know that anything is going to make it better. However, this does give the Sunni an "excuse" to kill more Shia, but they were probably going to do that anyway.

Hooskins is right - it will exacerbate the problem. That said, the fundamental differences between the Shia and the Sunni are so deep and so rooted in hate right now, I don't know that anything is going to make it better. However, this does give the Sunni an "excuse" to kill more Shia, but they were probably going to do that anyway.

This is exactly right. These two groups are similar to the Palestinians and Israelis in how deeply rooted their hatred is. They're in civil war. Saddam's execution may fan the flames for a brief period, but in the end, they're simply looking to kill each other because they hate one another.

And whether or not this will increase sectarian violence should not be a reason to not execute Saddam. If anything, Iraq needs a sense of justice and order. You kill thousands in cold blood, you get the death penalty. People need to see justice being served or they're going to totally lose faith in the Iraqi government altogether.

I tried creating a political thread once....once.

LOL. Nice, very nice.

If ladell doesn't fumble... Shit, wrong thread.

Dang, we done gone and went political now. Thou shalt not kill was a commandment listed in the Bible, supposedly handed down by God.

You're suggesting that we legislate religion, which I wholeheartedly disagree with.

Maybe you meant that killing is just wrong from a moral sense, regardless of what religion you subscribe to. If so, then your point is a little easier to swallow, just poor choice of words I guess.

Either way though, religion should stay out of it altogether. If it's a moral issue, I guess I have different morals. There are circumstances in which killing is OK in my book (not many, but there are some).

I meant it in a moral way of speaking, I'm not trying to get all religious because believe me, I'm about as non-religious as you can get.

I just don't think killing in any manner should be justified.

And all they are really fighting about is the ammount of virgins they get when they see the pearly white gates.

IMHO

Should build a giant electric wall around the middle east and close them off from the rest of the world untill one group finally wins, then we can open the middle east back up untill the winning group has a civil war on how to where your turban properly.

And all they are really fighting about is the ammount of virgins they get when they see the pearly white gates.

IMHO

Should build a giant electric wall around the middle east and close them off from the rest of the world untill one group finally wins, then we can open the middle east back up untill the winning group has a civil war on how to where your turban properly.

wow...pretty ignorant statement right there.