Why Livestreaming Executions Is Unwise in a Digital Age

Relief ran through me when I heard and read the news that President Trump had cancelled all plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan (see story here).

My concern for a publicized firing squad via the internet (or whatever medium was being considered) falls into the same category with the major issues I have about social media and its removal of physical reality from the viewer–i.e., a disembodied experience.

God created us as embodied beings (cf. Gen. 2:7, 14). We experience reality to the fullest in the physical world, which is denied on internet-based media and causes real problems in human beings and society. Jonathan Haidt in The Anxious Generation provides research proving that young men are hiding out in their rooms because they have anxiety for real life relationships. In other words, they think they can get all they need–sex, relationships, entertainment–without stepping outside the house because they moved their lives to the digital realm. They disconnected from reality and entered a distorted world of online gaming, chatting, AI relationships, and pornography. Haidt, therefore, is right to call this an epidemic because it is a real problem plaguing our young people.

However, I do have concern that an execution may be livestreamed on the worldwide web in the future. Allow me to share three reasons why we would do well to stand against such online events. (NOTE: This article does not touch on the moral or immoral nature of capital punishment, but rather the unwise decisions to livestream executions).

1. Livestream removes the severity and weight of the penalty. When I was in seminary, one of my professors taught about the just warrior. The Marine takes life, when justified and necessary, but still mourns that he or she must do so. Taking life is never—and should never be—a form of entertainment. People watching online will not be exposed to the noise, smells, sights, and sounds in real time because it will have been watched on a screen–i.e., a disembodied experience. Therefore, they will not feel the weight or know the mourning that comes when the punishment is executed.
2. Livestream misses the personal impact of justice being done. In Deuteronomy 17:5–7, a person who was clearly convicted of a transgression that led to the death penalty would be taken outside by the people of the city for their punishment. The witnesses attesting to the offense threw the first stone and everyone else threw their stones afterwards to bring about the transgressor’s death. Those who were present participated in bringing about justice and it had a personal impact. Those same people witnessed the entire process of justice from beginning to end. Livestreaming removes viewers from being embodied witnesses of justice. The online realm misses the in-person impact of the punishment.
3. Livestreaming may provoke rather than deter others. I heard a large church pastor talk about capital punishment as a deterrent for others who may want to commit similar crimes. The primary principle for capital punishment is retribution, not deterrence. The Old Testament death penalty laws were about purging evil and creating holiness within God’s chosen people. In other words, God is not after our behaviors; he has always been after our hearts or wills to know, love and follow him. Livestreaming could have the reverse impact on a small minority of people watching. Think about it this way: when you tell a child not to do something, how much more might your words provoke the child to do it? The same concept could hold true if the motives for capital punishment are based on deterrence not justice. Livestreaming might provoke a small group rather than prevent others from doing the same.

Is livestreaming a public execution for a capital crime moral or immoral? I’m not sure. I have not been able to come up with a definitive answer from my research and studies. From what I know about the dangers of the online world and the removal of the body from the event in question, at a minimum, I would agree with my mentor that it is unwise. We would do well to stand against livestreaming executions even in the future. Therefore, I am thankful the President canceled all plans to livestream Hasan’s execution by firing squad.

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