Brutality compounded

"They've done it, then" said the check-out assistant, glancing at the picture of the executed Saddam Hussein on the front page of the newspaper. I couldn't be certain, but she seemed to say it with a sense of smug satisfaction.

Saddam Hussein was a brutal and murderous dictator, of that I am quite sure. But I also believe that the war with Iraq was wrong, and I am pleased to have taken a small stand against that by going on the anti-war march with my daughter. I also believe that capital punishment is wrong as answering death with death is morally unjustifiable. Life imprisonment at least offers the chance of a human being to repent and change while protecting society from further harm. And, in this case, prevents the spectre of martydom.