WASHINGTON - Lawyers for Saddam Hussein on Friday made a last-minute appeal to an American court to avert execution in Iraq, asking a judge to block his transfer from U.S. custody to the hands of Iraqi officials.
Hussein's lawyers filed documents Friday afternoon asking for an emergency restraining order aimed at stopping the U.S. government from relinquishing custody of the condemned former Iraqi leader to Iraqi officials, a spokeswoman for a federal court in Washington D.C. said.
The documents were being processed and were not immediately made public. The Justice Department had not yet responded to the request.
A similar request by the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, Awad Hamed al-Bandar, was denied Thursday and is under appeal. Al-Bandar also faces execution. The Justice Department argued in that case that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction to interfere with the judicial process of another country.
Al-Bandar argued that his trial violated his rights under the U.S. Constitution but Justice countered that foreigners being tried in foreign courts are not protected by the U.S. Constitution.
The appeals court did not indicate when it would rule on the issue.
Must suck to be him right now. Wondering what comes next. A big black nothingness, or some kind of afterlife. He must hope for the afterlife, but dude knows all the people he has killed over the years, he is probably more than nervous about meeting whatever is waiting for him on the other side.
Whidden said this in post #3 : Must suck to be him right now. Wondering what comes next. A big black nothingness, or some kind of afterlife. He must hope for the afterlife, but dude knows all the people he has killed over the years, he is probably more than nervous about meeting whatever is waiting for him on the other side.
Saddam was worried about a lot of things. No doubt he had in his mind that “if there is a God, I wonder how He’s going to punish me for the things I’ve done”. The moment that rope went around his neck, I know it had to flash through his mind about all the people he killed in similar fashion.
When I saw his face as that rope went around his neck, the humane side of me wanted to feel pity for him but the sane side of me would let no such emotion prevail. Those last 3 seconds before that floor dropped must have been a thousand deaths for him and it still was more than he ever deserved.
Governor Bush on Kosovo war exit strategy in 99 ” Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
President Bush on Iraq war exit strategy from 2003 to 2008. “ “
12-29-2006 11:18 PM
