Saddam sentenced to death
Ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty of crimes against humanity in ordering the deaths of 148 Shiite villagers.
Visibly trembling, Saddam cried: "Long live Iraq. Long live the Iraqi people. God is greater than the occupier."
Four guards took him away with his hands held behind him after the sentence was read.
The court hearing began early this evening in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
Saddam former vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the 148 killings while Saddam's half-brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, was also sentenced to death.
Three Baath party officials also charged with the killings were sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Only one of the defendants, Baath Party official Mohammed Azzawi al-Ali, was cleared of any involvement.
People condemned to death in Iraq are hanged if they are civilians or go before a firing squad if they are members of the armed forces.
Saddam, who was sentenced to death by hanging, had earlier said he would rather face a firing squad.
"Remember that Saddam was a soldier and that therefore, if he is condemned to death, he should be shot and not hanged," he said on July 26, speaking of himself in the third person during his trial in Baghdad. More...
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From the Cathechism of the Catholic Church:
2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
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