Hussein Trial(s)

WaPo reports The Iraqi government is considering waiving further proceedings against former president Saddam Hussein if he is convicted at his trial on charges stemming from the massacre of 143 Shiite Muslims in 1982, a senior spokesman said Sunday. Hussein could face execution in that case.

You can only kill him once.

The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 19. The former president had been expected to face a dozen or more proceedings for alleged crimes committed by his government. But Laith Kubba, spokesman for interim Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari, said Sunday that if Hussein is convicted in the first case, any sentence is likely to be carried out as swiftly as possible. "My guess is if the court passes judgment, it should be implemented without further delay," Kubba said. He added that it was not possible to forecast how long the trial would last. The case concerns the aftermath of an attempt to assassinate Hussein in the northern town of Dujail in 1982. The government retaliated for the plot by killing at least 143 people and razing much of the town, the interim government says.