A Valley Viewpoint Narrative
By Ed Kowalski
I believe in accountability. I believe the law has to mean something, and that people who commit terrible crimes must face the consequences. Nidal Hasan was convicted of murdering 13 people at Fort Hood. Nothing about this argument diminishes the horror of what he did or the grief carried by the victims’ families.
But I don’t believe the government should livestream his execution.
The Pentagon says it plans to carry out Hasan’s sentence by firing squad on December 3 and broadcast it. President Trump has since said the final decision about a livestream is his. Legal experts say the proposal raises unresolved questions, including whether a public broadcast would violate Army rules or the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
I’ve spent years around employment law and the justice system. I’ve seen how much depends on whether institutions follow rules and treat human beings with basic dignity. I’ve also learned that accountability can be serious without becoming a performance. The state has the power to punish. That power comes with a responsibility to show restraint.
A livestream would not make Hasan’s sentence more lawful, more final or more just. It would make his death a spectacle—an execution staged for an audience under the banner of deterrence. If the government wants to explain the consequences of murder, it can do so without putting a person’s death on a screen.
I know some people will say, “He deserves it.” That may be their sincere view. But the question isn’t whether Hasan deserves sympathy. It’s what kind of government we want to be when the condemned person is someone almost everyone despises. Principles matter most when it would be easiest to set them aside.
The victims and their families deserve remembrance, justice and the space to grieve. They should not have to watch their loss turned into political theater. Nor should the government confuse public access with public entertainment.
Carry out the sentence through a lawful process, if that is what the law requires. But don’t livestream it. The government can demonstrate the seriousness of justice without inviting the country to watch a man die.
