This is just ridiculous. This murderous thug could avoid the death penalty or even if given the death penalty it could be vetoed by the new president of Iraq. Leaving this man alive after all the murderous things he's done will just leave the Iraqi people in his shadow until he is finally dead and gone.

Telegraph

Saddam Hussein could avoid the gallows under a secret proposal by insurgent leaders that Iraq's new administration is "seriously considering", a senior government source said yesterday.

While a deal could represent an important step towards ending the violence that has plagued postwar Iraq, a reprieve for Saddam would infuriate many in the country. He is unlikely to come to trial before the end of this year, but Jalal Talabani, Iraq's new president, has already begun to prepare his people for a possible reprieve.

Asked about the fate of Saddam in an interview yesterday in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, the president, who is a Kurd, stated his personal opposition to a death sentence.

"I am among the lawyers who signed an international petition against the death penalty around the world and it would be a problem for me if Iraqi courts issued death sentences," he said.

Though Mr Talabani's powers are largely ceremonial, he has the power, as the head of a three-man presidential council, to commute death sentences. The two vice presidents that make up the remainder of the council, Ghazi al Yawar, a Sunni, and Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shia, have not stated their positions.

...

"Anything but death for Saddam would be a travesty of justice," said Nawzad Othman, a greengrocer whose brother was among 5,000 Kurds killed in the notorious chemical weapon attack on Halabja in 1988. "A murderer like that cannot be allowed to live."

Tipped by: Captain's Quarters

Other Commentary:

Hyscience
JamulBlog who has somedelusion that the terrorists would actually lay down their arms because Saddam said to. I'd like to remind Jabul that the majority of the terrorists in the ocuntry are foreigners, not Iraqi's and I don't think they give a shit what Saddam says.
Transterrestrial Musings