No, not the Mailer book. This guy:
JEDDAH, 5 June 2003 — Saudi Arabia’s leading executioner Muhammad Saad Al-Beshi will behead up to seven people in a day.
“It doesn’t matter to me: Two, four, 10 — As long as I’m doing God’s will, it doesn’t matter how many people I execute,” he told Okaz newspaper in an interview.
He started at a prison in Taif, where his job was to handcuff and blindfold the prisoners before their execution. “Because of this background, I developed a desire to be an executioner,” he says.
He applied for the job and was accepted.
Man and I thought my resume sucked. But wait a second, this guy is skilled in several methods of amputation.
His first job came in 1998 in Jeddah. “The criminal was tied and blindfolded. With one stroke of the sword I severed his head. It rolled meters away.” Of course he was nervous, then, he says, as many people were watching, but now stage fright is a thing of the past.
(break)
He has executed numerous women without hesitation, he explains. “Despite the fact that I hate violence against women, when it comes to God’s will, I have to carry it out.”
Yeah man. Can't argue with God's will now can you? What's God's will in regards to amputations?
An executioner’s life, of course, is not all killing. Sometimes it can be amputation of hands and legs. “I use a special sharp knife, not a sword,” he explains. “When I cut off a hand I cut it from the joint. If it is a leg the authorities specify where it is to be taken off, so I follow that.”
Ah, of course. I'm glad this man's life "is not all killing," and that he gets to engage in other activities sometimes.....like cutting people's fucking hands off.
United States capital punishment looks almost civilized by comparison. Of course, the same type of religious zealots fuel both systems. Oh, but we do have a leader who mocks women who are condemned to death (Carla Tucker, whom Bush reportedly imitated during a private conversation, pretending to whimper, "Please don't kill me.") That should be the new slogan for Compassionate Conservatism. "Better than getting your head, feet, and hands cut off." I think that would test well with focus groups.
Kingdom's Leading Executioner Says, 'I Lead a Normal Life' (Actual Fucking Title from Arab News, an English language Saudi Arabian daily.
Posted by mike at June 6, 2003 11:49 AMif you count the number of murder crimes in saudi arabia in a year and you compare it with, let us not say the hole USA,but just NY then you will see what the big idea is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: scorpion on September 30, 2003 05:39 AM