The return of the public spectacle
Real talk: The U.S. hasn't done public executions for almost 100 years. The last one was in 1936, when an estimated 20,000 people crowded into Owensboro, Kentucky, to watch the hanging of Rainey Bethea. It was a literal carnival of horrors—popcorn, sodas, and spectators waiting in the heat. It went so poorly that the governor banned public executions shortly after. Now, the plot thickens. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just announced the military plans to publicly execute Nidal Hasan, who was convicted for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, and the Pentagon is doubling down by saying they’ll livestream the firing squad on the internet.
Why is this happening now?
Hegseth’s justification is simple: he wants people to understand there are "serious consequences" for actions. But scholars are highkey skeptical about whether this reflects where the country is at. Public support for the death penalty has been on a downward trend for decades, dropping from 80% in 1994 to 52% today. Experts like Professor Michael Radelet are warning that turning an execution into a livestream basically reduces justice to entertainment—literally telling people to "bring your popcorn."
What’s the vibe check?
Social psychology professor Kurt Gray suggests that while some might be thirsty for blood, others are just lowkey desensitized to the chaos of modern politics. However, the move has triggered massive pushback. The chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called it "barbaric," and even Vice-President JD Vance has gone on record saying he won't be watching. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has been more vague, dodging questions on his personal viewing habits but confirming he signed off on the decision to stream it, saying he doesn't care how it happens as long as it gets done.
Why it matters
We’re talking about a fundamental shift in how the state uses its power. By moving from private, clinical executions to a public, digital spectacle, the U.S. is drifting away from the norms held by most of its peers and into the territory of nations like Iran or North Korea. It’s giving a total identity crisis for a government that claims to hold the moral high ground.
