The Code of Obammurabi

The Code of Obammurabi
Posted by Lew Rockwell on May 4, 2011 03:39 PM

Writes Steve Kwon:

After learning the possibility that Bin Laden was captured and then murdered, I expressed to one of my colleagues at work that I wished Bin Laden was captured, not killed. He became curious and asked why I would prefer not to end the life of the most hated man in America. I explained to him that I believed the United States should have tried Bin Laden if he was able to be captured because of the importance of the due process of law and that the Constitution did not permit extrajudicial killings. After some back and forth in which I tried to clarify what I said, he (a graduate of one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country) turned to me and said he didn't care about the fifth amendment of the Constitution and told me what I was saying was 'pro Bin-Laden'. Why even bother trying to have any sort of intelligent conversation anymore? Although this country was founded on great principles of justice, it seems like the US government and some of its citizenry have regressed to a more primitive sense of justice more akin to Hammurabi's Code.I read your blog almost everyday and thank you – if nothing else – for keeping me sane in such bizarre and irrational times.