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Saddam May Escape Hangman's Noose
Saddam Hussein waited until the last minute before filing an appeal to his death sentence, and frequently delayed his trial with verbal tirades.
It all makes sense considering a little-reported Iraqi law, which bars the execution of anyone age 70 and above. Saddam turns 70 in April.
On November 5, Saddam was sentenced to hang after being convicted of ordering the deaths of 148 Shiites in the village of Dujail in 1982. He is still on trial on other charges.
Saddam’s lawyers had 30 days from the date of sentencing to file an official appeal. They waited until Sunday, December 3.
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The case now goes to a higher court. But there is no time limit for the appeal court’s review, and the earliest realistic date for the former Iraqi dictator’s execution, if it stands up to review, would reportedly be in the spring.
What’s more, "a recent report by New York-based Human Rights Watch concluded that Hussein’s trial was so seriously flawed that the verdict could be called into question,” according to the Washington Post.
So there is a good chance, if Iraqi law is not changed, that the appeal process could stretch past April 28, Saddam’s 70th birthday – allowing the convicted mass murderer to cheat the hangman.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Inside Cover Stories
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