Saddam Hussein Hung By His Neck Till He Was Dead, Dead, Dead

Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners before dawn Saturday. But as his final moments approached and masked executioners slipped a black cloth and noose around his neck, he grew calm.



In a final moment of defiance, he refused a hood to cover his eyes.

Hours after Saddam faced the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power, Iraqi state television showed grainy video of what it said was his body, the head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.



A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because "everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed."

Funny Crime Stories From 2006

In September Jacksonville police found a 22-year-old auto theft suspect hanging out of the ceiling of a Sheriff's Office interview room. Left alone in the room, the 5-foot-7, 135-pound Jacksonville man tried to tunnel his way to freedom by removing ceiling tiles and crawling into the rafters. Instead, police charged him with attempting to escape and criminal mischief for $5,000 damage to the building.

Also from Jacksonville, police answered a call from an Arlington man who reported he'd battered his wife and needed officers to come to their home. When police got there, the man's wife said he hadn't hit her and was trying "anything and everything" to get out of the house, including claiming he'd committed a crime so he could go see his girlfriend. The 35-year-old man finally told police, "I will say whatever it takes for you to arrest me and take me to jail. Just get me away from her."

When the cops catch you with cocaine, you need a rock solid defense. Chicago residents provide a couple pretty good examples. First there's the "we-were-out-of-coffee" defense. A 38-year-old man caught with cocaine in October said he worked two jobs and used the drugs to help him stay awake.

That's topped by the "my-kids-made-me-do-it" explanation a 25-year-old man offered after he was caught with cocaine in September. He told police he had gone back to using drugs because he was extremely upset after his 6-year-old was teased at school. He is officially banned from wearing "No. 1 Dad" hat.

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