Saddam Hussein and hypocrisy.

[Sercee]

I have no idea why I feel the urge to actually post in this thread, I decided to leave it alone a long time ago, but I had a thought...
This will only work if you believe in reincarnation.

There's a person in the news right now who has just confessed to kidnapping, raping and murdering a whole bunch of children under the age of about 13. They're seeking the death penalty. I agree with this.

The reason why I agree is that if he is left alive to rot in the prison system he is only a)stewing and not learning. This person has a long history or violence and a dangerous chance to reoffend, b)using up massive monetary resources that could be better spent elsewhere. I don't see anything good here, very little chance of rehabilitation (if any) and just sitting on his butt being a target or making new targets while wasting money.

Because I believe in reincarnation (and the way I believe in it -I think that everyone is born to learn all the lessons life has to offer) I think this man should be put to death. If this person is kept alive he is not learning anything new and is not being given a chance to pay for his actions in any meaningful way. Don't lock him up. That's cruel and pointless. Put him to death so he can reenter the cycle and start again. This way he's not wasting our time and resources and he isn't going to kill or hurt anyone else in this lifetime.

I didn't really want to reopen the topic but it's an idea that I don't think has been touched on...

[[ForestWitch]]

I can see your point here. I'm still sitting the fence about reincarnation, but even if I were sure I believed in it, I'm still not sure that there's no chance for learning, change or rehabilitation in prison. Bad as the prison system is, some people have gained remarkable insight there. So, you could argue that if this person were executed, who is to say that anything would be different the next time around? I think reincarnation makes as good an argument for life imprisonment which actually won't cost more than a death penalty case will cost. Certainly, he should never be released - that would be far too dangerous, but let him him stew; let him find out what it's like to be a target; and if possible, expose him UNRELENTINGLY to the pain felt by the families of his victims.

[Eretik]

Sercee, I stayed away from this one too, even though I 'm opinionated and pedantic! lol. I think justice has been hung out to dry and Hussein, once a feted ally of the West against fundamentalist Iran, has been made a convenient scapegoat, that is aside from the fact that he was a homicidal maniac, who comitted genocide and incited hatred. I am not arguing against his death, but against the manner of the trial and the timing of his execution, before the truth of the matter and the full implications of Western involvment and complicity were publicly expurgated. How convenient. You have made a salient and extremely interesting point, I accept reincarnation, and enjoyed your eloquent description of it, elsewhere on the forum. This has given me food for thought, believe it or not, I am surprisingly pacifist - I don't enjoy violence and am quite ashamed of my ability to be good at it, on occasion. I view it as a necessary evil, in protection of my kith and kin - this is why I have trained in Martial arts, so that I can temper my reaction to suit the situation using minimum force. Sad but true. I never used to support the death penalty, believing two wrongs can't make a right etc. but recently I have found myself wondering about it, you have said this and it's set me off, I see what you say and I see the sentience of this argument.