Archbishop Coakley calls planned livestream of firing squad execution as ‘barbaric’

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, denounced a plan to livestream a firing squad execution scheduled for December 3. Coakley expressed shock and sorrow regarding the decision to make the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan public.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated on Oct. 8 that the execution of Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, will take place at Fort Hood and be made available for public viewing. President Donald Trump recently approved the use of a firing squad for the execution.

Coakley described the plan as a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and urged officials to reconsider the decision. He stated that public executions undermine the moral fabric of the nation and cited the biblical exhortation to not repay evil with evil.