The Morality of Saddam’s Hanging

Two interesting posts this afternoon consider the morality of the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Steve Bainbridge does an excellent job of laying out the morality of the hanging, according to Catholic teachings and reasoning that are more universal than solely vengeance. It’s a very worthwhile read, and to consider.

Another devout Catholic, the blogstress Anchoress, also ruminates on the death penalty and Saddam. She asks, but doesn’t answer as it’s up to each of us, an important question:

No, I am not sad that he will die. But I think we should never enter these things without wondering what it does to us, too, and to our souls. If we stop thinking about that, if we lose sight of the spiritual aspect of everything we do…well, then it will be easy to lose sight of ourselves.

With all due respects to sensitivities, we should consider what it does to our souls when we do not act to fight and, when necessary, expunge evil.

EVIL. Yes, there is such a tangible thing as evil. It clearly exists in the extremes where one with purpose and repeatedly engages in mass tortures and exterminations. It is necessary to remove its perpetrators from this earth in order to both avoid more and provide a clear and present warning to others who may go down that path. A public execution, filmed and viewed, of Saddam Hussein serves that worthwhile end.

It would, instead, be a countenance of evil, a harm to our souls, to do less. It’s not noble or godly to allow evil to live but rather a crippling weakness of soul to not stand for what’s right. Weakness, the easy or sophistic or rationalized path, only leads to condoning evil acts by oneself or others.

It’s not for vengeance that Saddam’s execution is correct. (See, if you will, some photos of what Saddam did to others.) It’s for our and others’ souls.

I'm ordinarily not a supporter of the death penalty, for many common reasons. In this and similar cases, however, there are overriding necessities, most prominent of which is the sanctity of our good purpose on earth.