Chile's Pinochet placed under house arrest
Chile's Pinochet placed under house arrest - CNN.com
Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was put under house arrest on Monday for crimes including torture, murder and kidnapping in the years that followed his 1973 coup, a judge said. ... "Augusto Pinochet ... has been arrested as a danger to society given the grave charges against him. But due to his age, he is 90, he has been granted house arrest," said Judge Alejandro Solis, who ordered the detention.
I've never taken the time to study the details of the charges against Pinochet, but this is a mistake. First, there's the obvious point of how much of a danger can this powerless 90 year possibly be?
But more importantly, as I understand it one of the terms in the agreement that was reached for Pinochet to step down was that he would not face prosecution. If other dictators see us violating promises like this, it makes it that much harder for us to obtain their resignations in the future.
I have little doubt that Pinochet deserves jail and more, but for the sake of those who currently do or will live under dictatorial rule, we should leave him alone and let justice be served after his death. The world's an imperfect place and sometimes justice can't be served in this world in order to protect others. This is one of those times.