The announcement by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that the military would publicly execute and livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, has reignited discussion about capital punishment in America. The execution by firing squad is scheduled for December and would represent a dramatic departure from practices abandoned nearly a century ago.
The last public execution in the United States occurred in 1937 in Missouri, following the highly publicized hanging of Rainey Bethea in Owensboro, Kentucky on 14 August 1936. That event drew approximately 20,000 spectators and generated significant national attention, ultimately prompting Kentucky’s governor to ban public executions due to public concern about the circus-like atmosphere surrounding the proceedings.
Experts and observers have expressed alarm at the proposed return to public executions. Michael Radelet, a professor emeritus at the University of Colorado who specializes in capital punishment studies, stated he never anticipated witnessing another public execution. He highlighted that public support for the death penalty has declined substantially, dropping from 80 percent in 1994 to 52 percent currently, particularly when the alternative of life imprisonment without parole is presented as an option.
Sonya Lea, author of a recent book examining the Bethea execution, characterized the proposed livestream as extending the “carnival of sadism” witnessed in 1936 to a potentially global audience. Other observers, including leadership from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, have characterized the plan as barbaric and inconsistent with American values. However, there appears to be division within the administration itself regarding the proposal, with Vice-President JD Vance expressing uncertainty about the plan’s implementation, while President Donald Trump indicated approval for the livestream announcement.
Social psychology and public health researchers have noted differing assessments of American attitudes toward such a proposal, with some suggesting declining interest in public displays of violence, while others observe potential desensitization among certain segments of the population regarding the matter.
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