Red

Two of the remaining Khmer Rouge leaders have been sentenced to life in prison for "crimes against humanity." That's good... I suppose. I'm having difficulty believing that justice was done, as the crimes committed by these men outstrip the ability of the justice system to render punishment. They ordered the murders of hundreds of thousands of people and deliberately allowed a million more to starve. They created a Communist state of the worst sort and enlisted thousands of teenage thugs to harass and kill their own citizens.

Today these monsters are octogenarians, having far outlived even many of the relatives of their victims. How do you punish such evil men? I hardly see simple execution as adequate. Keep them alive and in pain? While I don't condone torture as punishment, (information extraction is another matter), it's very tempting in this case. The Christian practice of turning the other cheek is woefully inadequate in such cases. We're not talking about a mere playground bully; these men are on a par with Stalin and Hitler.

As with so many of my questions, I've no answers. But it seems ridiculous to me that these men will be placed in a prison where they will be fed and clothed and provided with medical care. Perhaps the wardens have something special in mind; I certainly hope so.