US Archbishop: Livestreaming execution promotes a 'barbaric culture of death'

Archbishop Paul S Coakley

Source: USCCB/Vatican Media

The President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul S Coakley, has expressed "shock and great sorrow" over the decision to publicly livestream the execution of Nidal Hassan, the former Army major sentenced to death for the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting.

"Our God is the God of life," said the Archbishop of Oklahoma City in a statement. "In no way can Hassan's actions be condoned, but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered."

Archbishop Coakley recalled the exhortation in St Paul's Letter to the Romans: "do not repay anyone evil for evil" (Romans 12:17).

"The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people," he said.

He concluded with a prayer that the nation would choose life, even in difficult circumstances.

"I pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel that we as a nation may always choose life even in the most trying times and circumstances."

The Pentagon announced plans to livestream Hassan's execution by firing squad after President Donald Trump approved the execution on the recommendation of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

According to the Army's announcement, the execution was scheduled for December 3, 2026, at Fort Hood, Texas, although further legal proceedings could delay it.

It would be the first execution carried out by the US military since 1961 and its first by firing squad since 1945.

Hassan, a former Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Processing Center on November 5, 2009. A military court sentenced him to death in 2013.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also criticised the livestreaming decision, telling AFP that broadcasting an execution live would amount to a public execution and violate the absolute prohibition of torture.