I have spent the last week trying to understand why the proposed livestream of Nidal Hasan’s execution bothers me so much.
His crimes were horrific. He killed 13 people at Fort Hood. The victims and their families deserve justice, and I am not asking anyone to forget what he did.
If an execution must proceed, and all legal avenues to prevent the death have been exhausted, then let justice be done.
I cannot accept that justice requires broadcasting death to the world.
Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad Dec. 3. When I learned of the plan to let the public watch, I wondered if I needed to speak with a priest. Something about the decision unsettled me beyond politics. I needed to think about what we owe one another – what we owe civilization – even in the punishment of someone who committed terrible evil.
I keep thinking about the children who will see this.
What happens when that footage reaches a child’s phone? When it is replayed, shared, and turned into a joke?
What are we teaching our children about the value of life and the responsibilities that come with power?
Here in Cibola County, families have sent their loved ones into military service. The country our warriors serve must take this moral question seriously.
I love America, and I believe we have a responsibility to protect its spirit as carefully as we protect its security. If we are to be civilized, justice demands protecting human dignity. Broadcasting this death risks spreading the suffering to children and families who had nothing to do with the evil.
These are already hard times we are living through. I believe we can – we must – choose something better for our children to inherit.
Let justice be done. Do not turn it into a spectacle.
God bless Cibola County. God bless the United States of America.