A government-ordered public execution hasn’t happened in the United States since Aug. 14, 1936.
asserted
execution → order → Aug.
In that case, it was the hanging of Rainey Bethea in Owensboro, Kentucky, who was convicted of raping and killing a 70-year-old woman in her home.
asserted
who → convict → home
Ninety years later, another public execution is scheduled to take place on Dec. 3 in Fort Hood, Texas, at 1 p.m. CT.
asserted
execution → schedule → CT
But this execution will be by firing squad of Major Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded 32 in a terrorist attack at Fort Hood in 2009.
asserted
who → kill → 2009
President Donald Trump has signed off on the order by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
asserted
Trump → sign → Hegseth
The date, time, and weapons were chosen by Hegseth to mirror Hasan’s attack.
asserted
date → choose → attack
As far as the numbers regarding capital punishment in general go, 66% of U.S. adults favor the death penalty for murder, according to a survey from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.
uncertain
% → regard → Center
When split down party lines, 84% of Republicans favor it, while a slight majority of Democrats, 51%, feel the same way.
asserted
majority → split → way
What makes this execution different is that it will be livestreamed for the world to witness.
asserted
world → make → ?
And this begs two questions:
Will doing so send a clear and unambiguous message to our enemies that any attack on Americans, especially on U.S. soil, cannot and will not be tolerated?
Or will it make a terrorist like Hasan a martyr?
Among GOP circles, the feelings appear to be split.
asserted
feelings → beg → circles
House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example, said it won’t be must-see-TV for him.
asserted
it → say → him
“I wouldn’t be watching it if it was aired,” he told CBS News recently.
asserted
he → watch → News
“I need to tell the White House what some of my colleagues think about that and not everybody’s in favor of the idea.”
asserted
everybody → need → idea
“If it were me, I wouldn’t televise it or publicize it or whatever they’re doing,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said while campaigning with Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers.
asserted
Kennedy → televise → Rogers
“I just think it makes our society coarser, and I wouldn’t do it.”
asserted
I → think → it
“We weigh the risk every single day in this country,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said regarding the risk of martyring Hasan.
asserted
Mullin → weigh → Hasan
“That’s what we do, is we protect the homeland.
asserted
we → ’ → homeland
But I don’t see an elevated risk at this point at all because of this: I think people need to understand if you attack America, we will come after you, and we will make sure that the punishment fits the crime, and in this case, he killed 13 individuals on Fort Hood.
asserted
he → see → Hood
I have no sympathy for him, and I give absolutely zero thought to the way that this man dies.”
asserted
man → have → way
“It’s going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad,” the secretary of war explained in a recent interview.
asserted
secretary → go → interview
“And we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
asserted
people → make → things
Vice President JD Vance has also weighed in by appearing to accept a firing squad as a means of execution, but also said he won’t be watching it.
asserted
he → weigh → it
“Whatever the controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don’t forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people,” Vance said.
asserted
Vance → hope → people
“Now that said, I mean, look, if it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not gonna be watching it.
asserted
I → say → it
While the president has signed off on Hegseth’s method of execution, he has not approved or disapproved the livestreaming aspect.
asserted
he → sign → aspect
“There are two thoughts,” Trump told reporters last weekend.
asserted
Trump → be → reporters
Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did.
asserted
he → know → what
So, I’ll make a decision, ultimately.
asserted
I → make → decision
Ultimately, the decision should be to go ahead with using a firing squad, particularly in light of the botched execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike in Tennessee on Sept. 30 by lethal injection.
asserted
decision → go → injection
Pike has since regained consciousness and begun walking this week.
asserted
Pike → regain → consciousness
It is still unclear whether Tennessee officials will attempt to execute Pike again.
uncertain
officials → attempt → Pike
Using a firing squad would be a guaranteed method of execution with zero chance of survival.
asserted
Using → use → survival
Livestreaming the event, however, may only give Hasan, who has referred to himself as “a soldier of Islam,” the glory that he seeks.
uncertain
he → livestreame → that
During his trial, he decided to defend himself by not defending his actions at all.
asserted
he → decide → actions
“Witnesses will testify that war is an ugly thing,” he said at the time.
asserted
he → testify → time
“Death, destruction, and devastation are felt from both sides, from friend and foe.
asserted
Death → feel → friend
Evidence from this trial will only show one side.
asserted
Evidence → show → side
I was on the wrong side but I switched sides.”
asserted
I → switch → sides
As he was gunning down U.S. service members at Fort Hood, Hasan repeatedly yelled “Allah Akbar.”
asserted
Hasan → gun → Akbar
It is almost virtually guaranteed the same words will be screamed before the firing squad pulls their triggers for everyone to hear.
asserted
everyone → guarantee → triggers
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
