Pope Leo XIV, the first pope to be born in the United States, issued a statement on X on Saturday in which he condemned the use of the death penalty. He wrote that the death penalty “is unacceptable because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and that “the general welfare can be protected and the demands of justice met without resort to the death penalty.” Leo added that effective detention systems can protect citizens while still allowing those convicted of serious crimes the possibility of redemption. The pope’s remarks came after the Pentagon announced that the execution of former Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan would be broadcast live. Hasan, who shot 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, was sentenced to death by a military court in 2013. The scheduled execution is set for 3 December at 1 p.m. and will be carried out by a firing squad of soldiers, according to an interview with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the conservative program “Real America’s Voice.” Hegseth said the execution would be “public” so that “people can see that there are serious consequences for this kind of conduct.” The decision to livestream the execution has drawn criticism from several U.S. officials. Bishop Paul Coakley, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the plan “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death” and urged it to be reconsidered. “The public execution, even of someone who has committed serious wrongdoing, will only further damage the moral fabric of our nation and stain the conscience of its people,” Coakley said in a statement. He invoked the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel, praying that the nation would always choose life. President Donald Trump, a long‑time supporter of the death penalty, told reporters on Friday that he had personally approved the decision to livestream Hasan’s execution. “Did I approve it? Absolutely!” Trump said. When asked whether he was concerned that the video could be used as propaganda, he replied, “They’ll make a decision about that, but he will be executed. It doesn’t matter how it happens, as long as it does.” Trump declined to say whether he would watch the livestream. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina described the plan as “crazy and disgusting.” Vice President J.D. Vance, who has converted to Catholicism, expressed uncertainty about whether the Pentagon would proceed with the broadcast. “I don’t know if that’s actually going to happen,” Vance told reporters. He added that, regardless of the method, “people should not forget that this is a man who killed innocent people.” The last public execution in the United States took place in the 1930s, and the last military execution was in 1961 when Private John Bennett was hanged. If the Pentagon’s plan goes forward, it would be the first time a U.S. government‑sponsored execution is streamed live. Robin Maher, director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told Newsweek that the organization has no records of any U.S. execution being streamed live. “Our data show that the last public execution occurred in the 1930s. We have no evidence of a live‑streamed execution,” Maher said.
Article source: De Ware Tijd | Image credit: De Ware Tijd