Most philosophy students will, at some stage of their studies, come across the paradox of the unexpected exam.
It reads something like this. The teacher comes in and tells the students to be prepared to sit for an exam next week. To make it particularly challenging the exact day of the exam will not be revealed - it is an unexpected exam.
The question is then asked: on which day will the exam be given?
the answer is never.
Let us suppose Friday is the last day of the week. then clearly it cannot be given on Friday for by 6pm on Thursday the students would know that Friday is the day of the exam and hence it will no longer be surprised. The last day the exam can therefore be held is on Thursday. But Thursday is ruled out for exatly the same reason as Friday was for again if by 6pm on Wednesday there has been no exam the students will reason well it cannot be Friday therefore it must be Thursday but it cannot be Thursday because then it would no longer be unexpected. The same logic applies to all the possible days so the answer to the original question is that there will be no exam.
The same logic applies to the Bali Bombers. They will be, according to the Indoensians, be unexpectedly executed some time before the middle of november say the 15Th of November as the absolute last possible day. Then by the same logic one can argue that they cannot be executed because it will not be an unexpected execution. So it is impossible for them to be executed unexpectedly

It would be good if the Bali Bombers were able to use the paradox to get their sentence commuted to a life sentence. Can we seriously argue that judicial murder is justified on the grounds that these three people murdered hundreds of innocent people? Far better that they spend the rest of their life isolated in prison with ample time to reflect.

Unfortunately, Baygon, the Bali bombers will not "spend the rest of their life isolated in prison". On the contrary, the Indonesian government has given them ample opportunities to promote their hateful ideology to the world's media, and would probably continue to do so.

If they truly were isolated in prison and unable to whip up the passions of susceptible people, it would be perfectly desirable for them to remain alive.

As it is, Amrozi et al have been allowed to continue to insult the memory of their victims ad nauseam.

Although I am an opponent of capital punishment, it is evident that the only way these murderous fanatics will be silenced is by their own brutal and hypocritical government.

3/11/8

The Indonesian Government today has granted
the Bali bombers another stay of execution.
Another one of their appeals is to be heard.

It seems that the Indonesian Government is
more interested in severe punishment for
drug smuggling but not for people who murder
innocents by the hundreds.

The paradox has no pertinence for the execution of the Bali bombers. Their execution is expected to be carried out, although the process of administering their punishment seems to be interminable.

The bombers may be surprised if the warders suddenly, without warning, enter their cells and take them to their execution. That 'without warning' would certainly fit one definition of 'unexpected', but these murderers know it's coming.

The bombers forfeited their lives when they commited mass murder of innocent people. Feeling sorry for them to suffer their fate is pointless. As Robin Harris, the now-deceased American stand up comedian used to say in many of his routines (referring to people who commit heinous crimes), 'when you gotta go, you gotta go'.

The Bali bombers richly deserve to die. They've gotta go. Don't cry for them.

The paradox is hypothetical. That problem is one of symantics.

Baygon,
I suspect that humans rights advocates would consider ‘isolation’ in prison only marginally more acceptable than capital punishment. In fact, as with the disciplining of children, I suspect it would difficult to device a punishment/corrective response that some or other more principled group would not find fault with.