There is a biblical principle that a criminal should expect retribution in an “eye for an eye” manner. In short, if you commit murder, expect the death penalty.
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One key aspect of this is that the authorities should not impose a penalty greater than the offense. This is lex talionis, the law of just retribution. It is not a bloodthirsty rule, as many moderns wrongly understand it. It is actually a restriction on punishment, preventing a penalty greater than the offense, saving the lives of minor offenders.
Current news is full of the impending execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, who killed thirteen and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood in 2009. He was convicted by a military court-martial and sentenced to death. We may speculate on the reasons why execution of his sentence was delayed under President Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, but it has re-emerged under President Trump and SecWar Hegseth.
Of course, all the usual suspects cried out that this was awful. But their cries were amplified by revulsion at Hegseth’s announcement that the execution would be livestreamed. They claimed that it was contrary to our civilized society, ignoring their own call for all Republicans to be executed. But we shouldn’t expect them to be consistent. That would require the application of rational brainpower, and that faculty is located in the forebrain, far above the limbic system in the midbrain that they exercise so frequently.
Even some conservatives objected, and President Trump subsequently canceled the livestream. But the controversy raises an interesting question: Why shouldn’t executions be public?
More “rational” actors claim that livestreaming an execution would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.” That argument fails, but requires a somewhat more extended answer.
Throughout history, the public death penalty has been a norm. Other than being drawn and quartered like William Wallace, the various methods were generally not considered cruel and unusual in their own times. The headsman’s axe or sword, guillotine, hangman’s noose, and firing squad were generally quick and reliable.
Most of these methods were known to the Framers, and the methods commonly used in their day were generally acceptable. The slowest was hanging if the neck was not promptly broken, since the person was strangled. But even that was acceptable, since the crime committed was worse.
And that brings us to the key point. Even the botched Tennessee lethal injection, was less cruel than the death the perpetrator inflicted on her victim. There is even an argument that it was an unintentional form of just punishment. And that brings us back to Hasan.
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Lex talionis would in theory allow us to shoot him thirty-two times before administering the coup de grâce—thirteen times. Obviously, that’s not happening, even though there’s a poetic justice to the idea. Instead, he gets a far more merciful end than his victims.
And yet bleeding hearts scream that it’s awful, not realizing that he voluntarily enlisted and placed himself under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The UCMJ authorizes the death penalty for his offense. And the military has authorized a firing squad in Hasan’s case, a method with a long history in American military justice, going back to General Washington’s Revolutionary War army.
The only argument remaining is the potential livestream, even though Trump has canceled it. For those offended by it, there would be no need to watch. As for Hasan, we haven’t heard a peep of objection, perhaps because it would make his “martyrdom” more public and valuable to jihadi Islam.
On the plus side, there would be a real benefit to a livestream. When we read that some person was executed in Texas or Tennessee or elsewhere for his crimes, those are words on a page. The impact is something less than real. But if we see it live, it makes an indelible impression. That evil perpetrator is now dead. For real.
Consider a traffic collision. When you hear about it on the 6 PM news, there are pictures and a voice-over. But when it happens in front of you… Well, you get the picture… In slow motion and living color.
The issue isn’t even the reality of the event. The issue is the impact on future miscreants. When the death penalty is public, it is a real threat to them if they do certain crimes. Some may step back and turn in another direction. Some are too sold out to evil to care. And some will proceed, hoping to commit suicide by cop. The rest of us can rest just a bit easier because justice has actually been served.
But if it saves one life…
Image created using AI.
Ted Noel is a retired physician who posts on social media as Doctor Ted and @Vidzette on X. He also posts occasional longer pieces on Substack.