Posted 10/11/2026
Nidal Hasan is scheduled for execution by firing squad on December 3, 2026. This marks the first execution by firing squad in the United States since Brad Keith Sigmon was executed in South Carolina on March 7, 2025, for the 2001 double-murder of his ex-girlfriend's parents. Hasan's execution by firing squad will also be the first carried out by the American military since World War II, following his conviction for the November 2009 Fort Hood shooting in which 13 people plus an unborn child lost their lives. The twist is that the event is to be livestreamed.
Livestreaming an execution could potentially shatter the boundary between state punishment and public theater. In the past, hangings in the town square or suspected witches being burned at the stake drew crowds of onlookers. Even larger crowds watched gladiators battle in arenas, dying for entertainment. Ironically, as we progress as people, modern digital distribution makes it possible to garner an audience in the billions, transforming human mortality into content.
Opposition to the broadcast is fierce, voiced by individuals who argue that airing capital punishment degrades human dignity and revives a dark era of public spectacle under the guise of transparency or deterrence. Alonzo Lunsford, a survivor of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting who was shot seven times, supports the execution, but opposes making the livestream open to the general public.
Perhaps we are too desensitized to even give it a second thought. Cinematic premonitions in dystopian narratives like The Hunger Games or The Running man, where society's appetite for blood sport transforms human suffering into primetime viewing, corroborate that sentiment. If televised or livestreamed executions are to commence, we may be witnessing the first true steps toward a reality where state-sanctioned killings are commercialized for collective consumption.
Proponents might argue that public access ensures absolute accountability, with the state fully disclosing its most extreme act. However, it may be creating a culture where the termination of a human life becomes just another video feed to be scrolled past, debated in comment sections, or consumed for morbid curiosity. Such videos may even encourage more gruesome deaths to keep viewers glued to the screen. As we grapple with an era where technology constantly blurs the lines of privacy and consent, it is critical to remain vigilant about the standard of ethics we will maintain as human beings.
