How the US military plan to livestream an execution compares with global practice

The U.S. military plans to livestream the Dec. 3 execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan , the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. If carried out as planned, death penalty experts said it would mark the first known broadcast or livestream of a lawful execution. Executions are generally conducted behind prison walls, and internet platforms and governments have spent years trying to limit the circulation of violent execution footage. Has a lawful execution ever been livestreamed or broadcast to the public before? Death penalty experts consulted by Reuters said they were unaware of any previous lawful execution that had been livestreamed or broadcast to a public audience. Execution footage has occasionally emerged after the event. The hanging of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2006, for example, was seen around the world after official and unofficial recordings circulated online and through broadcasters, though it was not shown live. Broadcasts and livestreams today are common for court proceedings, parliamentary debates and other state functions, but not for judicial executions. How unusual is this compared with modern execution practices around the world? Public executions have become rare worldwide, with most countries that retain the death penalty carrying out executions away from public view. According to Amnesty International, public executions recorded in recent years have largely been concentrated in Iran and Tal…