United States Archbishop Timothy Broglio has urged Catholics who are members of the country’s armed forces not to take part in a planned public execution by firing squad, saying that it violates the teachings of the church. Broglio released a strongly worded statement on Monday raising a series of concerns about the US military’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, a former army major who killed 13 people during a shooting attack at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. He also asked whether the US wants to “imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries”.
The plan to livestream the execution on December 3 was announced last week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who characterised the spectacle as deterrence. But the proposal has sparked backlash from lawmakers, rights groups and critics who warn that a publicly broadcast killing is not only unethical but could also be used as anti-US propaganda. Hasan, now aged 56, was shot by the police during the 2009 Fort Hood attack and is now wheelchair-bound.
Critics fear livestreaming Hasan’s death could turn him into a symbol for armed groups that may be hostile to the US. Cardinal Blase J Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, also condemned the plan to livestream the execution in a social media post on Monday, questioning the example it could set for children. Do we really want our children, who will inevitably view it, exposed to the pornography of a state-sponsored slaying?” Hegseth has said he wants the execution to take place at the same time and location as the 2009 shooting spree, and described using military members to carry out the death penalty.
He was the only US soldier to have such a sentence carried out for abandoning his post. In Monday’s statement, Broglio also questioned the reasoning behind putting service members on camera to carry out Hasan’s death. He hinted that it could harm the US military’s image abroad.
Still, on Saturday, he indicated that he has not decided whether to proceed with a livestream. Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did,” Trump told reporters. In April, he also approved additional methods to carry out the death penalty, including the firing squad.
In the past, Trump has also floated the death penalty as a punishment for crimes ranging from drug dealing to sedition, a term he has invoked against political rivals.
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