Nidal Hasan death vs. Robert Bales life - oy

[Haruo]

I am in a general way opposed to the death penalty, but the level of my disapproval varies from case to case.

I think the just-announced death sentence for Fort Hood shooter Dr. Nidal Hasan is particularly unfortunate, coming as it does just days after the sentence of life in prison without parole given to Afghan village shooter Robert Bales. The message it sends to the Muslim world is bound to be, in essence, "if you are a US soldier and you massacre dozens of innocent civilians, including little kids, in their homes, the American legal system will let you off with three hots and a cot, but if you're a Muslim and you become convinced that God needs you to oppose the American war machine, the American legal system will kill you." I don't think for a minute that this is the intent of the system, if systems have intents; I think it is random happenstance. But I think it has the potential to do much more damage to US interests, and to eventuate in the deaths of far more innocent persons on all sides, than anything Chelsea "Bryant" Manning and Edward Snowden together could have done.

I would prefer that Nidal not be executed, but I think from a "national security" point of view it might have been even better if Bales had been sentenced to death...

[Dave Roberts]

Sadly, Hasan wanted the death penalty to make him a martyr. He expected to die in the shooting, and now he is using the court martial to get his wish for what he conceives as martyrdom. I think the military court never realized how disturbed this shrink really is.

[Sandy]

Let's see if the military actually executes him.