"Horrible and morally reprehensible" - strong criticism of plans for live execution

Late last night, Defense Minister Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon had decided that death row inmate Nidal Hasan, 56, should be executed. The execution must be broadcast live and anyone can watch it.

- Horrible. On the one hand you can discuss the legality of it, on the other hand it is morally reprehensible. At the same time, it is completely in line with the actions of this administration. It definitely deserves the condemnation of the outside world, says Fredrik Bergman Evans, lawyer and head of the Center for Justice, an independent organization that protects non-profit and independent actors with the mission of protecting the fundamental freedoms and rights of individuals.

In the American constitution, there is a prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment", something which, according to Fredrik Bergman Evans, may have a bearing on the plan to broadcast the execution publicly. He assumes that the matter will be tried legally.

Established regulations regarding executions normally stipulate that attendance at an execution must be limited to a small circle of witnesses — such as relatives and representatives of the press and media to accommodate public transparency.

- But the possibility of stopping the development legally is made more difficult by the fact that the US Supreme Court has a strong conservative majority. The court often interprets the constitution from a historical perspective, and a few hundred years ago public executions were the norm in the legal system, states Fredrik Bergman Evans.

Something that could affect the development is if criticism is directed against it from the Republican side.

- If it does, and especially in relation to the upcoming midterm elections, then maybe it will be stopped, says Adam Hjorthén, docent in history and director of the Swedish Institute for North American Studies at Uppsala University.

He believes that the attention-grabbing outcome is completely in line with the messages that Defense Minister Pete Hegseth has drummed up over the past year:

- His focus on military strength, not showing himself weak and the importance of following orders have characterized his statements. Add to that his personal and religious convictions about what is right and wrong and you realize that his willingness to make this a public performance is not so surprising, continues Adam Hjorthén.

According to him, it is not unimportant that in the American context it is a non-white person who is to be executed:

- For very many non-white people, not least in the United States, there is another type of execution that this will be associated with. I think of the long history of lynchings and of state violence against, for example, blacks, says Adam Hjorthén.

He doubts whether the American administration will care about the condemnations expected to come from the outside world.

- This is about an administration that does not want to appear weak and make concessions in response to criticism, he states.

Fredrik Bergman Evans believes that condemnations will come, both from individual countries and from the EU.

- However, there is a risk that people are afraid to criticize the US because it could lead to increased trade barriers. But this is a development that is going in the wrong direction.