Televised executions?

[Q]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 11:14am

The NY Times had an opinion piece about the prospect of televising executions (or releasing recordings online.) Many interesting questions are raised.

I'm personally against capital punishment, and agree with the idea that they should be made public because "people should have the right to see what is being done in their name and with their tax dollars." If you're going to support it, you should support the reality of it, not some mental construct that keeps you at a distance.
Link to article.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 11:38am

I am in favor of capital punishment only if crimes by elected public officials are made capital crimes, and I am quite serious. Corruption's worst effect is on the faith of the people, so make that betrayal a much more serious crime than a crappy jail term or fine will ever gloss over.

Put a few crooked congressmen on a gurney, and send it out over the airwaves so people can watch rich white people get killed legally.

Holding office is a responsibility, and ought to have repercussions if used for personal gain.

If corruption by elected officials is not a capital crime, then no crime ought to be one.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 12:01pm

What a day, what a day, for an auto-da-fe!

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 12:25pm

Auto-da-fé? What's an auto-da-fé?

[D2]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 12:32pm

Q, have you ever seen this movie?


Witness to the Execution

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 12:35pm

When they've swept up the ash
We can meet
Down the street
And have lunch!
What a day!

[Q]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 12:52pm

D2 - no, I haven't. I barely made it through DEAD MAN WALKING, though (I'm almost sure I didn't breathe for the last ten minutes of it, anyway.) The fact that WITNESS... stars Sean Young gives me some pause for thought I'd be curious how the story unfolded, however.

And WOSQ - am I mistaken, or did you categorically lump "elected public officials" and "rich white people" together? I'll grant a preponderance, but hardly accept them being one-and-the-same.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 1:02pm

In all seriousness: I've become more supportive of the death penalty as I've gotten older and less idealistic, although I believe that there are still serious errors that need to be addressed (racial biases in the system; the shoddiness of appeals processes for death row inmates; DNA-related materials; etc.) However, this sounds like straight-up barbarism to me.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 1:07pm

Arguably, televising an execution is just as cruel (albeit in a different way)as the living dissections of afflicted celebrities by the press.

[Q]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 2:04pm

I would think the 'cruelty' is pretty much covered by the choice to execute. I'm a bit bothered by the notion of, "Oh, yes, by all means kill him/her, but we don't want to have anything to do with it." Witnessing it brings a bit more complicitness, to my mind.

On the other hand, of course, is the 'meet in the town square for a picnic during the beheading' scenario that has been written about from days gone by. We've seen tendency toward that with public 'partying' (for lack of a better term) during past executions (ie. Ted Bundy.) And, quite honestly, that kind of expression makes me vaguely sick to my stomache.

No easy answer to the concept in general, as we know. But, I do tend to agree with their premise of shared accountability.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 3:18pm

Why those "corrupt officials" will never be treated as the criminals they are?

Guess who makes the laws.

[wexy]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 3:36pm

It will all be about ratings
Lethal injection would be boring.
Firing squads?; The cast of Jersey shoots, four have blanks and one the real bullet
Gulliotines?
or hangings

[SNAFU]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 3:55pm

I like the firing squad idea with the cross over celebrity marksmen... So You Think You Can Shoot?

This weel Kirsty Alley, Florence Henderson, Kim Hardashian and Bristol Palin take aim!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 4:01pm

Next week a special inspirational episode featuring Stevie Wonder.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 9:20pm

i've been arguing for this for years! but, we gotta do away with that lethal injection bs. hook them killas up to ol' sparky, give the folks at home four options for how the current will flow then let 'em text away and control it in real time.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 9:59pm

There's a rich black one in the White House. Or, doesn't half count?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/29/11 at 11:54pm

Kill everyone now! Condone first degree murder! Advocate cannibalism! Eat sh!t! Filth is my politics! Filth is my life!

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 3:11am

People keep saying it would act as a deterrent.

Well, we had public executions for centuries. Didnt seem to deter much.

[Q]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 6:35am

I keep thinking about this televising proposition, and ending up at the same place - I think it should give people pause for thought, but I don't think it actually would. While I, myself, don't think I could actually watch - much less participate - I have a feeling I'm in the extreme minority.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 7:23am

I've always wondered if watching executions live on TV would be a exciting as these last 5 minutes of Susan Hayward in I WANT TO LIVE!

http://youtu.be/ZY_Sq_euI6w

...which I always thought would make a helluva musical.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 9:13am

Staring Sutton Foster in a role to die for!

[D2]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:04am

Can you just imagine what the show curtain will look like!?!

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:16am

If you're going to televise executions so people can know what they support, then you need to televise abortions, too.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:25am

Call me crazy, John Boy, but unless you're a woman, that's a decision you're never gonna have to make.

Just sayin'.

Back to our regularly scheduled beheading, now in progress!

Updated On: 7/30/11 at 10:25 AM

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:34am

And, unless your a judge or governor, executions are a decision you're never going to have to make.