Should Osama bin Laden be put to death?

[Ebowed]

When/if we catch him, of course.  I say no.

[Gabu]

Given how readily people like him voluntarily kill themselves, I can't imagine it'd be all that horrible - he'd be thankful that he'd be sent to Allah so quickly (of course, he'd likely also be in for a surprise, but that's another story).

Then again, it would likely enrage the American people needlessly if he were kept alive.  I would say that the benefits of putting him to death would outweigh the downsides, although, obviously, both sides exist.

[MasterJedi]

No we have to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. Once those videos get out his followers will realise he isn't some superhuman God. It'll break up a lot of Al Queida but not all of it.

[Richard]

Yes.

[MissCatholic]

Put him on e-bay. Highest bid gets to kill him.

[DanielX]

Put him on e-bay. Highest bid gets to kill him.

Excellent way to reduce the national debt....

I say he should die slowly.

[minionofmidas]

No.
Not for his sake, for yours.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No. Kind of pointless don't you think? Should attempted suicide bombers be executed? What's the point?

And of course the whole martyr deal.

[TheWildCard]

No.
Not for his sake, for yours.

Yeah... Let him live so the terrorists can take hostages and order for his release.

I say put him to death if only to protect us from that situation.

[True Democrat]

I oppose the death penalty, except for terrorists, so yes, he should be put to death.

[minionofmidas]

No.
Not for his sake, for yours.

Yeah... Let him live so the terrorists can take hostages and order for his release.

I say put him to death if only to protect us from that situation.

Eh, good point. Hard to say what's worse, a live imprisoned Bin Laden or a dead martyr Bin Laden. Either might prove more dangerous than an alive-and-kicking Bin Laden. (notice: might)

But I was thinking along moral lines, not practical ones.

[TheWildCard]

No.
Not for his sake, for yours.

Yeah... Let him live so the terrorists can take hostages and order for his release.

I say put him to death if only to protect us from that situation.

Eh, good point. Hard to say what's worse, a live imprisoned Bin Laden or a dead martyr Bin Laden. Either might prove more dangerous than an alive-and-kicking Bin Laden. (notice: might)

But I was thinking along moral lines, not practical ones.

What is immoral about killing someone who has ordered the deaths of thousands of people? Though, this issue is very subjective.

[minionofmidas]

Just read Camus, it'll save me a lot of work.

[Speed of Sound]

this is a tough issue. i oppose killing him, because then we're just like him. How about a jail cell and some bread and water? based off the fact that he didnt actually kill anyone, the death penalty doesnt seem to fit the crime.

[George W. Bush]

this is a tough issue. i oppose killing him, because then we're just like him. How about a jail cell and some bread and water? based off the fact that he didnt actually kill anyone, the death penalty doesnt seem to fit the crime.

Manson dident kill those people in that house either, and he should die.

[Richard]

No. Kind of pointless don't you think? Should attempted suicide bombers be executed? What's the point?

And of course the whole martyr deal.

If it is pointless, then you don't mind going either way, right?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No, what I mean is it is not a punishment.

[Everett]

He should be kept alive for an extended period of time, simply because I don't believe in sending the message to his Islamic extremists that he was a martyr for their cause. If his imprisonment starts provoking more violence, I am not certain of if his execution would cause that to escalate or decline. Either way, although I would personally like to beat the internal organs out of bin Laden, it would not necessarily be effective.

[PBrunsel]

I still think we should hang Bin laden and Hussein by a sour apple tree, but that would probably just lead to, as BRTD brought up, "the martyr to the cause" propaganda.

I really have thought about this and I though I am anti-Death Penalty, I can't really make up my mind on this.

[ilikeverin]

No; then he'd be a martyr, and I think he'd like that

[Emsworth]

If there is an actual trial (which I highly doubt), then awarding him the capital punishment is legitimate. If he is killed in an attempt to capture him, that's fine as well.

From a political perspective, though, making him a martyr for the extremists might not be the wisest idea.

[TomC]

Yes, because he "controls" or controlled a network of killers, he should be stopped by ending his life.

[Gabu]

this is a tough issue. i oppose killing him, because then we're just like him. How about a jail cell and some bread and water? based off the fact that he didnt actually kill anyone, the death penalty doesnt seem to fit the crime.

I don't think the argument of "he didn't actually kill anyone" is exactly a very good thing: he has nonetheless been the mastermind behind thousands of deaths.  Was Hitler completely innocent?  I don't think he ever actually killed anyone.

I disagree that killing him will make us just like him, because we'll be killing Osama bin Laden, and not, you know, thousands of innocent people.

[Emsworth]

From a legal perspective, the assertion that he did not directly kill anyone is, fortunately, irrelevant. If he orders the killing of another individual, then he is just as guilty of premeditated murder as the one who actually killed the person in question.

[Speed of Sound]

i stand by my comment and say a small jail cell and bread and water!