Saddam Hussein went on trial in Baghdad on October 19, 2005. The charge was the killing of 148 people in the town of Dujail after an attempt on his life in 1982. It was the first case against him, chosen because the evidence was strong.
He refused the court. Saddam told the judges he would not recognize their authority, and he argued that he was still the president of Iraq. The trial was broadcast, and the country watched a man who had ruled by fear for decades now seated in a cage before his accusers.
The case was slow. It was rough. Defense lawyers were killed during the proceedings, and the judges changed, and the trial was interrupted by the war still going on outside. The arguments ran for over a year. The verdict came in November 2006.
The court found him guilty and sentenced him to death. He was hanged on December 30, 2006, the first day of the Eid holiday. The footage spread quickly, and the undignified scene drew criticism as well as celebration.
The trial was meant to establish a rule of law after the invasion. Whether it did is still argued. It put the record of his crimes into a courtroom, and it gave the victims a hearing. The man on trial never accepted the court's right to sit, and he never would.