‘No death should be fodder for public entertainment’ – Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson issues statement on the initial intention of the live broadcast of the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan

The United Church of Christ’s General Minister and President/CEO, the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, has issued a statement following the announcement that Nidal Malik Hasan, the former United States Army major convicted in killing 13 people in the Fort Hood shooting, would have been executed by firing squad with a live broadcast on December 3. That decision was later retracted and the live broadcast of the execution was canceled in an announcement by President Donald Trump.  

“For more than 50 years, the United Church of Christ has advocated for the abolishment of the death penalty,” said Thompson in the statement. “The killing of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood by Nidal Malik Hasan is without question a heinous crime. The announcement by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that Hasan will be killed by firing squad is a perpetuation of the evil that Hasan inflicted. The initial intention of the Secretary to publicly broadcast his execution through a live stream is even more disturbing. While the decision by President Trump to not livestream this execution is welcome, even the fact that this was a possibility is morally troubling.”  

The former Army major would become the first service member to be executed by firing squad since World War II. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in the 2009 shooting at the Texas military base. Since the announcement, a CNN report stated that White House officials were “debating whether to call off” plans to carry out the execution via livestream. ABC News reported that some officials have raised concerns about the optics of broadcasting an execution, with fears that the footage could spark anti-American propaganda, particularly among Islamic extremist groups.  

“To turn murder into spectacle and invite the world to gawk as a life is extinguished is a disgusting display of immorality which threatens harm to those who are forced to participate, to the reputation of the United States of America, and to a watching world,” said Thompson in the statement.  

Thompson’s full statement, along with a prayer she issued can be read below:

Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse, but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing. (I Peter 3: 9)

For more than 50 years, the United Church of Christ has advocated for the abolishment of the death penalty. The killing of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood by Nidal Malik Hasan is without question a heinous crime. The announcement by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that Hasan will be killed by firing squad is a perpetuation of the evil that Hasan inflicted. The initial intention of the Secretary to publicly broadcast his execution through a live stream is even more disturbing. While the decision by President Trump to not livestream this execution is welcome, even the fact that this was a possibility is morally troubling. To turn murder into spectacle and invite the world to gawk as a life is extinguished is a disgusting display of immorality which threatens harm to those who are forced to participate, to the reputation of the United States of America, and to a watching world. The trauma of such a moment is not easily undone. It communicates not strength, but moral and virtuous weakness. This callous disregard for human life and basic human decency is a rejection of Christian values. No death should be fodder for public entertainment, making mockery of God who is the source of life and of Jesus whose will is for life abundant.

The National Council of Churches has issued this statement, “A Call to Choose Mercy Over Spectacle.” The United Church of Christ is a member of the NCC and endorses this statement. 

Dear God, in these days where peace is ever elusive, we pray for its arrival. We pray for peace that takes deep root among your peoples. True peace, we know, must come with justice, and justice, too, remains among our fervent prayers. Remove the veil from our hearts that mistakes retribution for justice, so that in our pursuit of justice we do not make peace an impossibility. Spirit guide us in our continued quest for peace and for a just and peaceful living. Amen.

KGT Statement – livestream of execution_FINAL 20261014Download

Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson
General Minister and President/CEO
United Church of Christ

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