Hundreds competing to be Saddam’s executioner: NYT News
Hundreds competing to be Saddam’s executioner: NYT

[JURIST] Hundreds of people have lobbied Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office for the position of hangman for Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] if he is actually executed, according to the New York Times Saturday. A top aide to Maliki has speculated that so many people were interested in executing the former Iraqi dictator because they wanted to exact revenge for the loss of loved ones. As well as determining the executioner, the Iraqi government must assign a location for the hanging. With government officials reportedly concluding that a public execution could incite violence or a rescue attempt, many believe the most likely site for the Saddam's hanging would be Camp Cropper, the US military prison where he is currently incarcerated [Observer report].

Hussein and two of his government's top officials, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar, were sentenced [judgment; JURIST report] to death by hanging in November for their involvement in crimes against humanity committed in the town of Dujail in 1982. Hussein's lawyers have filed a formal appeal [JURIST report] against the ruling. The appellate court has no time frame for its review but if the nine-judge court upholds the sentencing, the execution must be carried out within 30 days. The New York Times has more. UPI has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.