Actually I think the high sentence was influenced by public oppinion.
Cruelty is in the middle east some kind of historical standard when dealing with criminals.
Having said that, it could also be that the court found an analogy to the Nuremberg Trial, where also the death penalty was decided to be by hanging.
Just like with Nuremberg Trial the end of Saddam's trial can mean an end of some era, at least politically. The man that once used to shake the country is now to be hanged, no better symbol of changes I could think of.
Funny how looking at this eldery, broken man one can almost feel pitty for him. |