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Since Timothy McVeigh's last request also coincides with the wishes of the families of his victims, it ought to get serious consideration.
McVeigh was convicted of murder for his part in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. The conviction was upheld through two appeals, and McVeigh declined to continue that process. He did not ask for executive clemency; he did ask to get it over with.
The federal Bureau of Prisons responded by setting May 16, 2001 as the day that McVeigh will be led into a chamber at the maximum-security federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. Then he will be strapped onto a cruciform gurney and given a lethal injection.
The relatives of a murderer's victim have traditionally been allowed to witness the execution. But in this case, there are only eight available seats, and at least 250 Oklahomans who want to be there.
Federal officials have responded by looking into a closed-circuit TV broadcast. McVeigh has asked, in essence, why bother with closed-circuit? Why not just televise it, so that anyone who wants to tune in can watch?
Try as I might, I can't come up with any good reasons for not making all executions as public as possible.
Conducting executions in a hidden spot, open only to a few selected witnesses, is a relatively recent development. Merry Olde England used to hang pick-pockets at gaudy public festivals, where pick-pockets would work the resulting crowds.
During Colorado's early days of statehood, when judges sentenced murderers to be hanged by the neck until dead, the county sheriff was in charge of the gallows, and the public was invited.
Sometimes the demand exceeded the capacity, and the
sheriff was forced to limit admission by issuing numbered
invitations, like this one: You are respectfully invited
to attend the EXECUTION OF ALFERD PACKER AT LAKE CITY,
COLORADO, on the 19th day of May, A. D. 1883. Clair Smith,
Sheriff of Hinsdale Co., Col.
(Packer was not hanged on that day because his murder conviction was successfully appealed. He was then tried and convicted of manslaughter, resulting in a 40-year sentence in the state penitentiary which was commuted in 1901.)
So, the Anglo-American tradition at the heart of our jurisprudence is squarely in favor of public executions.
Assuming that many death-penalty supporters are correct in their argument that the death penalty has a deterrent effect, then the more that people are aware of it, the greater the deterrent.
This would certainly appear to be a social benefit, and if our repressed Victorian ancestors could abide public executions, why can't we enlightened moderns?
Whether it is a deterrent or not, though, public executions could offer another benefit.
Criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the
people.
That's us. And the punishments for those
convicted are imposed in the name of the people,
rather than the victims.
Thus we should be able to see, if we so wish, what is being done in our name.
When an execution is closed to the public at large, but the relatives of victims get special rights, it furthers a pernicious trend that treats our criminal justice system as a mechanism for private vengeance, rather than as an institution that serves the larger interests of society.
There are some other arguments against public executions, and they don't stand up.
One, advanced by some death-penalty supporters, is that if the public at large saw executions, public opinion might swing against the death penalty.
I doubt that it would, and even if it did, isn't that one of the risks of democracy, that an informed public might change its position?
Another is that public executions, especially if televised, would tend to coarsen society.
This is a society where, during the past week, I've lost track of how many times I've seen the replay of the fatal accident of a race-car driver.
This is a society where Eminem is an honored recording artist and Madonna is an A-list celebrity.
This is a society where Survivor
is a top-rated
television show, although for all I know, the World
Wrestling Federation gets higher ratings.
In short, to talk of coarsening American society
is like talking of trashing the I-70 corridor west of
Denver.
Whatever you're worried about has already
happened, and it is nearly beyond the imagination to
conceive of any further degradation.
So, make executions as public as possible. Conduct them in arenas, and auction the television rights, with the proceeds going into a fund for compensating victims. After all, nobody has to watch.
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