Friday, April 20, 2001

I have seen some very interesting debates on the internet broadcast of Tim McVeigh's execution. I really don't know where I stand on the issue, but the debate is an interesting one. Maybe it should be broadcast... bring back public executions. If people see the cruel, barbaric nature in ourselves, maybe we would think twice about capital punishment. Maybe public execution would serve to be more of a deterent (i doubt it)? It certainly will bring the debate about capital punishment front and center. If we are going to do it, why are we so ashamed that it is done behind closed doors. Then there is the first amendment argument. How can the government stifle such news reporting on 1st amendment grounds. Maybe it is considered obscene... If showing the act of making love is obscene, surely one man putting another to death is. Then again, we see this acted out on TV and the movies everyday, why can't it be seen live? It seems to me that if we are so ashamed of what we are doing (executions) that we are compelled to do it behind closed doors, we should not be executing people at all.

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