On December 13, 2003, the 23-year reign of Saddam Hussein -- the Iraqi dictator believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 300,000 Iraqis -- was ended by the soldiers of the United States Army 4th Infantry Division.

Saddam was found by U.S. armed forces near Tikrit, Iraq, in a "spider hole" (a military term used to describe a camouflaged opening that leads to a chamber or tunnels). Saddam's spider hole was located six to eight feet underground and was just large enough to allow him to lie down. According to reports, he offered no resistance and was taken into custody at approximately 9:15 p.m.

Now leaders, analysts, and average citizens around the world struggle to determine how to best ensure that justice is served. As syndicated columnist Robert Scheer asked in a widely published editorial, "We got him -- now what?"

During the first week of December, 2003, the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), an interim governing body of 25 members (put in place by the U.S. administration) announced the formation of a war crimes tribunal and promised to provide "justice for oppressed Iraqis." The deadline for the U.S. to transfer authority in Iraq to the IGC is July 1, 2004, and many believe that the new Iraqi government will re-instate the death penalty, which was suspended during the U.S. occupation.

"We will get sovereignty on the 30th of June, and I can tell you, [Saddam] could be executed on the first of July," said Mouwafak al-Rabii, a Shiite Muslim and member of the IGC.

Others inside and outside Iraq advocate for an international court, similar to those created by the United Nations for Rwanda and Yugoslavia, that would take the option of the death penalty off the table.

"The U.N. does not support the death penalty and all the courts we have set up have not included the death penalty," said United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He acknowledged that Saddam has been accused of "heinous crimes, including gross and systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law." But, he asserted, "It is essential and absolutely vital that all those responsible for these crimes should be brought to account. I think this should be done through open trials in properly established courts of law, which will respect basic international norms and standards."

Many citizens -- in the United States and Iraq -- believe Saddam's fate should be left in the hands of his victims. "I think he should be put in a zoo with the monkeys, and they should charge one dollar for people to spit on him," said Rasul Al-Ramhahy, an Iraqi who fled the country in 1991 after his brother was killed in an uprising to overthrow Saddam.