I join with Archbishop Paul Coakley, President of the USCCB, and my brother bishops in expressing my shock at the Department of War’s plan to livestream a public execution.
Certainly, Nidal Hasan’s actions at Fort Hood in November 2009 were barbaric. He was justly found guilty of the murder of 14 unarmed men and women, including a mother and her unborn child. The Church proclaims the dignity of all persons and, accordingly, emphasizes the profound responsibility of civil authorities to encourage conversion of heart and a spirit of repentance. Capital punishment, at a minimum, in instances where nations and states still lamentably practice it, should never be made into an occasion for public spectacle.
