(CNN) -- Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to hang for crimes against humanity. Defense attorneys said they see little hope of winning an appeal of Sunday's verdict. One of Hussein's lawyers has suggested the death of Hussein will open "the gates of hell" for U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.
We asked CNN.com readers what they think about the verdict and Iraq's future. Here is a selection of your e-mails, some of which have been edited for length and clarity.
Jason Briski from Ames, Iowa
This verdict is justice for all those Iraqis who suffered and died under Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule over Iraq. While his death may temporarily stir up rebellion in those who supported him, the vast majority of the Iraqi people are happier with him gone, and the world is better off with him dead.
Ali Iqtidar from Islamabad, Pakistan
There's no doubt that Saddam was, to put it simply, a really bad person. I am, however, unconvinced that putting him to death will help Iraq; it will likely worsen the unrest that the country already faces. Life imprisonment or exile might have been better options; by executing him they run the risk of turning him into a martyr figure for Sunni extremists.
Lisa Graas from Clarkson, Kentucky
The verdict brought to my mind the question of what might have happened if Hitler had been brought to trial and subsequently hanged. Would fascists have been energized by that? I think they would have been, but their influence would be on a much smaller scale than what we will find in radical Islam. I think that in the post-World War II period, the Allies were much better at publicizing the crimes of the Nazi regime than we are now at publicizing the crimes of the Hussein regime. Hussein will have more avengers than Hitler does. Heaven help us.
Erin L. from Geneseo, New York
Normally I am opposed to the death penalty. But in this case I fully admit happiness and fulfillment that Hussein will be killed. Hussein is a monster, and there's little doubt he will ever change.
Becky Laney from Lynn Haven, Florida
I believe this verdict is part of the healing process the people of Iraq has to make before they can become "whole" again, not just as a country but as individuals.
Craig Carroll from Hastings, Minnesota
Hussein is an evil person and the world would be a better [notice I didn't say safer] place without him. I worry that he will become a martyr for radical groups and make a bad situation in Iraq even worse. People should brace for problems in Iraq and probably elsewhere as well, but the form of those problems could be more subtle than outright violence.
Dan Diehl from Lansdowne, Pennsylvania
How curious that this verdict is announced only days before the U.S. midterm elections, and how barbaric that the method to be used is hanging. Of course, the U.S. had no role in either of these decisions because the Iraqi government and Iraqi legal system is independent of U.S. control. Sure it is.
Armin Baur from Litchfield, Connecticut
If death by hanging is the right sentence for Saddam Hussein, then what would be the right sentence for Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld for starting a war that was not authorized by Congress, leaving 3000 Americans dead?
Sandra Benson from Destin, Florida
The verdict could not have been anything but death. The verdict tells the world that the Iraqi people are serious about their freedom and will do what is right no matter what the outcome might be.
Tarik Baykal from Ankara, Turkey
I believe the court's decision was a dangerous move, not because of the decision itself, but rather the timing of the decision. At a time like this when you have bloodshed all over Iraq every day, it would only be unwise to add fuel to the fire. The court decision should have come at a date when U.S. and coalition forces were fully out of Iraq. This would have allowed for a cool-off period that would have created a dampening effect on the reaction to the court's decision.
Monica Whalen from Royston, Georgia
I just think that the hanging should be done ASAP in front of the Iraqi people and live. This man or monster does not deserve an appeal. He never deserved a trial. He needs to be taken out and quickly -- then BRING OUR SOLDIERS HOME!!!!!
Janice Calderon from Pasadena, California
[The verdict is] too little, too late. Can we now go to Darfur where the crimes against humanity continue? Or do we not go because there is no oil in Darfur?
James Lemaster from Chesapeake, Virginia
I believe that Saddam Hussein, his sons and his appointed associates have committed tens of thousands of murders. For decades they have raped, murdered and defiled the Iraqi people, [keeping them from] any form of freedom. I actually believe that death by hanging is too quick of a death for Saddam. I would like to see him suffer for a very long time before being put to death.
Brian Katz from Farmington, Connecticut
The statement that was made by Saddam's lawyer is not completely inaccurate when he said that a guilty verdict would "open the gates of hell." He is correct in saying this because the "gates of hell" are awaiting Saddam Hussein.
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