UPDATE ~ Saddam to be charged with premeditated murder, torture News
UPDATE ~ Saddam to be charged with premeditated murder, torture

[JURIST] Following up on a report in JURIST's Paper Chase earlier today, Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] will likely face charges of premeditated murder, torture and forced expulsion and disappearances for his alleged role in a 1982 massacre of Shiites [NPR audio report] when his trial begins next week, a court official said Thursday. Hussein was charged [JURIST report] in July in connection with the 1982 attack, but exact charges have not yet been disclosed. Hussein could face the death penalty [JURIST report] if convicted for the killings of 143 Shiites in Dujail after villagers there failed in an attempt to assassinate Hussein. According to court officials, a gunman opened fire on Hussein's motorcade as he passed through the town. Hussein, unhurt by the attack, allegedly ordered Iraqi army helicopters to fire on villagers, while troops rounded up and imprisoned residents. AP has more. Chief judge Raed Juhi also said Thursday that he hoped the trial would be broadcast live on TV [BBC report], although he said that that decision would be up to the other trial judges in the case.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US Supreme Court ruled Indians not US citizens

On November 3, 1884, the US Supreme Court ruled in Elk v. Wilkins that John Elk, an American Indian who had tried to vote in a federal election in Omaha, Nebraska, was not a US citizen entitled to the protection of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution. Native Americans became eligible for citizenship in 1887 under the Dawes Act, but only in 1924, under the Indian Citizenship Act, were all Native Americans born in the US made citizens.

Last public execution at Tyburn Gallows in London

On November 3, 1783, the last public execution took place at Tyburn Gallows in London, when John Austin was hanged for highway robbery. From the hanging of William Fitz Osburn in 1196 until Austin's execution, Tyburn served as London's primary location for public executions.

Learn more about the trial of John Austin.