US Religious Leaders Condemn Livestream Firing-Squad Execution
Leaders across the religious spectrum have condemned U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the firing-squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, warning that the decision risks turning state-sanctioned killing into public entertainment.
In 2009, Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, walked into a medical building where soldiers were getting medical checkups, shouted “Allahu akbar” — Arabic for “God is great!” — and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun. Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 injured.
While acknowledging the severity of Hasan’s crimes, critics have argued over the past few days that broadcasting an execution undermines human dignity, contradicts religious teachings on the sanctity of life and threatens to normalize violence.
The plan — first announced by Hegseth on Oct. 8 — would mark the first time since 1961 that the U.S. military has carried out the death penalty. President Donald Trump approved Hasan’s firing squad death, a Pentagon spokesman said on Monday.
Here are quotes from six U.S. religious leaders and what they’ve said in opposition to the plan.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
“It is with shock and great sorrow that I have learned of the Department of War’s decision to publicly livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan. Our God is the God of life. In no way can Hassan’s actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered. The word of God exhorts us: ‘Do not repay anyone evil for evil’ (Romans 12:17). The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.”
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, archbishop for the U.S. military
“First of all, I renew my expression of heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those who died in the attack at Fort Hood. It was an attack that disregarded the dignity of the human person. I had the sad duty of presiding and preaching at the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in that attack.
“Secondly, I repeat the opposition of the Catholic Church to capital punishment. The Catechism was already clear and Pope Francis made it even clearer. The dignity of the human person is again at stake.
“Thirdly, do we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries? The crime committed by Nidal Malik Hasan was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose? Has the potential moral injury, which the members of the firing squad might experience, been considered? Will the exposure of a live-stream to the young and impressionable during the 250th anniversary year of our independence be able to be repaired? The US military generally enjoys a good reputation in the world. Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheel chair to the whole world? Does this decision reflect the dignity of the human person?”
Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals
“A live-streamed execution by firing squad risks turning one of the state's most solemn responsibilities into a public spectacle, promoting a culture of death, rather than a culture that upholds the dignity of every human being.”
Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network
“Beyond the fact that executions do not deter crime or increase safety, it’s appalling that a public official would try to introduce it as a livestream arcade. It’s been almost a century since our country’s last public execution, and we must not fall into the abyss of such a vengeful practice.
“We undermine our own humanity when we treat another person’s death as something to watch, celebrate, or use for entertainment. It is remiscient of the horrors of lynching in our nation’s past, and would be a grotesque display of hatred witnessed in the public executions of some authoritarian countries today.”
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe
“The idea of live-streaming a firing squad execution is reprehensible in the extreme and will cause moral injury to everyone involved. We need to ask ourselves who we have become as a nation when senior officials decide to make a spectacle of state-sponsored violence.”
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, senior vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism
“The Defense Department’s reprehensible decision to livestream his execution only compounds this tragedy.”
Clemente Lisi serves as executive director at Religion Unplugged.