Having written a column about the death penalty, I wasn’t anticipating writing more on the criminal justice system this week, but, of course, the news can change everything.
Three events this past week really got my attention, the proposed public execution of Major Nidal Hasan, the teenage bond hearing in Minneapolis, and the police shooting of a woman in Jacksonville. All three have aspects that go far beyond the actual event.
Major Hasan—Major Hasan was a U. S. Army psychiatrist assigned to Fort Hood. He became a radicalized Islamic and acted in accordance with those distorted religious beliefs. Hasan killed 13 people/soldiers and wounded 33 more in his killing spree. Hasan was forcibly subdued and injured his back to the extent that he now is a paraplegic in a wheelchair. A military court sentenced him to death, which in the military can be by firing squad.
Nothing in those facts creates a political problem of any magnitude for our country. The problem is that the execution itself has been politicized. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has proclaimed that the execution will be public and live-streamed. The argument for such an execution is as its use to further deter anyone thinking of doing what Hasan did and to project American justice. Hegseth may be well intentioned, and many in the military may support his actions. However, the downside is also present.
The photo optics will have Hasan strapped into his wheelchair with a firing squad only a few feet away and then dispatching him with a volley of rifle fire. The execution would be efficient and would follow procedure done by military courts for centuries. Today, it is a big mistake.
• Read the complete column in the Friday, Oct. 16 print edition of the Clinton Journal or now in the Journal E-Edition for subscibers.
