The backlash against livestreaming an execution

Executions open to the public, once a popular spectacle in early America, began to lose whatever moral purpose they once had nearly two centuries ago. The last legally sanctioned public execution in the United States was in 1936. And, as a sign of how sentiments have shifted, a monument was erected in Massachusetts just nine years ago to mark the site of the most famous public hangings – 19 people accused of witchcraft in 1692 Salem.This week, three TV news networks reported that the Trump White House is leaning against a plan by the Pentagon to livestream an execution – by firing squad on Dec. 3 – of an ex-Army major convicted of killing 13 people at a Texas military facility in 2009. Not only has airing such an official and gruesome act ignited bipartisan backlash in Congress, but House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance also say they would not watch the broadcast.The Pentagon itself is reevaluating the plan, according to CNN. Perhaps only the events just before and after the killing might be streamed. Over the decades, the motives for ending public executions and moving them into prisons have varied – frequently separate from debates over capital punishment. The vast crowds that once watched the killings would often become unruly. Officials began to doubt if public executions served as a deterrent to crime. One observer in the early 19th century, activist Lydia Maria Child, wrote this:“Each day, hope and fear alternated; the natural effect of all this was to have the whole thing regarded as a game, in which the criminal might or might not become the winner. ... The hearts of men were filled with murder; they gloated over the thoughts of vengeance, and were rabid to witness a fellow-creature’s agony.” In the Trump White House, however, the main reason against livestreaming the execution of Nidal Hasan, a Muslim who killed his fellow soldiers as an act of jihad, is that it might make him a hero in the Muslim world, according to news reports. Mr. Hasan told Army officials that he wants to be a martyr. Also, President Donald Trump has recently criticized Iran for its public executions of dissidents. Whatever the reasons, the U.S., like most countries that still use the death penalty, long ago decided not to play up executions to voyeuristic crowds. Deepen your worldviewwith Monitor Highlights.Politics with respectGet political stories with respectful analysis.There‘s a world of new ideas in everyBooks newsletter.There‘s more to life, enrich yours withCulture & Learning weekly.Follow humanity‘s discoveries withScience & Nature stories in your inbox.Gain a spiritual perspectivefrom the stories in your inbox.Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor‘s insight.Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads. That reflects wider progress to prevent depictions of violence. YouTube, for example, bans content that is “violent or gory” and “intended to shock or disgust viewers.” Movies come with ratings of fictional violence. Watching the sufferings of others, even a convicted murderer, may eventually lose all appeal. Then, even potential killers might find little delight in taking a life. ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LoginReal news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.