It's interesting that so many people gathered solely to express "we want this guy dead, not imprisoned." I wonder if there's more context?
Given the dynamics of Bangladeshi politics, a life sentence from the current government is actually a jailing until the opposition comes to power and pardons everyone convicted by its predecessor.
I'm against capital punishment, but I understand where the protesters are coming from: they want real justice for the atrocities in 1971, and see the death penalty as the only way to obtain lasting closure.
Politics in a democracy of 180MM people is really, really messy.
Snark serves no one well.
>> It seems messier than politics in a democracy of 300MM people or 70MM...
> Snark serves no one well.
FWIW I didn't see it as snark. You seemed to imply the size of the democracy mattered. His/her response was a couple counter-factuals. Then you seemed to acknowledge it's not the size, it's the age of the democracy (which is a great point).
In any case I found the rest of your original post really helpful context, explaining why a "life" sentence probably won't turn out to be that. Thanks!
That, uh, seems like plenty of context to me? Throughout history, seriously bad dude plus nationalistic fervor equals lynch mob pretty darn often. The seriously bad dude part is usually even optional!