[jambutty]

Whether Saddam is hung or shot won’t make any difference cashman. He will still be just as dead with the potential of becoming a martyr. But then he will still have the potential of becoming a martyr to some if he is imprisoned for life with the added danger of an attempt being made to gain his release.

Saddam has been proven to be a criminal, although he sees himself as a combatant and has asked to be shot rather than hung. His request has been denied.

This point was debated on Question Time last night with the result that the consensus was that Saddam was tried under Iraqi law that was formulated by a government that was put in place by the people of Iraq in a national vote. Iraqi law allows for murderers to pay for their crime with the death penalty by hanging. 50 years ago he could have been stoned to death.

We may not agree with capital punishment and live in a country where such a punishment does not exist but that has nothing to do with Iraq and we have no business poking our noses in. We expect other countries to respect our laws and we should have the same respect for their laws.

The most that we non capital punishment countries can do is to appeal for clemency on Saddam’s behalf but even that would be interfering in Iraqi affairs.