Death be not proud

One of my lurking fears is the reintroduction of the death penalty. Nothing it seems to me so betrays our corporate humanity as the desire to kill each other. That we should choose to do it 'legally' is profoundly confronting. One can criticise illegal acts, and violence...but when someone is killed by legal prescript then we are making a profound statement about our values.
We can all understand why people think Saddam should be executed, that doesn't mean we should do it. In fact I find it rather disturbing that so few voices (if any) can be heard saying that the death penalty is wrong. Just plain wrong.
One of the ironies is that it allows the voice of evil itself to paint himself as a martyr. That is an obscenity.
I go on record as saying that I believe no good is achieved by executing criminals. I do not think Saddam should be legally murdered (an oxymoron if ever there was one).
If anything Hussein should be left to rot in jail like Hess, an ongoing reminder to future generations of his evil.
He will, of course, be subect to the blood lust of the Iraqis but more realistically of the American administration. Less than human behaviour by those who claim the moral high ground.