XVI- John Demjanjuk (talk about a bad day)

I was reading the news today, and had to talk about this story of John Demjanjuk. Today, he has been sentenced to 5 years in prison...for Nazi war crimes.

John D. is 91 years old. I imagine the prosecution went something like this:
"Do you remember where you were in 1943?"
"That was 68 years ago. so no"

They have numerous articles that have been linked to him being there, so odds are he is guilty as charged. He maintains his innocence despite this evidence. Although, the only reason he was regarded as a Nazi is because he was a prisoner of war. It was common for POW's to be forced into service for Germany in WWII. Unless...you were Jewish. So here we are, almost 70 years later, prosecuting a man who is 91 years old.

Some things that stuck out from reading about this crazy event:

• "As survivors and defendants have aged and died, the prosecution of Nazi-era war criminals has become increasingly difficult because, 66 years after the end of World War II, few potential witnesses are still alive."New York Times.  I imagine.
• He's been deported from the USA. Twice
• He is a retired US auto worker, meaning if you own an American car 30-40 years old, there is an outside chance it was part built by a Nazi.
• He was sentenced to death in 1988 in Israel, but was pardoned when they discovered they mistook him for a different Nazi.
• They had to make special arrangements for him because of his old age and health conditions.

Should John Demjanjuk be prosecuted?

The UK's First Post has a good article here

"But his accusers have maintained that between March and September 1943, he was a guard at the Polish Sobibor death camp. This was a relatively common way for Soviet prisoners to avoid being one of the three million Russian soldiers who starved to death in camps. Demjanjuk later testified, "I would have given my soul for a loaf of bread."