Watching live execution is wrong
Internet broadcast of death would be cruel, unusual punishment

By Jordan Blum
Skiff Staff

Everything is entering the mainstream in today’s world of limitless shock value — even executions.

In our society of South Park humor, Marilyn Manson and Howard Stern, virtually nothing seems to surprise or offend the average college student.

Correy Jefferson/SKIFF STAFF

However, broadcasting live executions via the Internet seems to go far past the distant line of good taste that had supposedly been pushed far beyond visibility.

Entertainment Network Inc., a Tampa, Fla. company, is suing for the right to broadcast Timothy McVeigh’s execution live over the Internet.
ENI is claiming it is doing so because people have the First Amendment right to watch. Of course, ENI made its riches off of the Web site VoyeurDorm.com, which was surely another one of their moral crusades to restore constitutional rights to the public.

With the McVeigh execution, ENI ever-so-conveniently also plans to charge viewers $1.95 to watch. This must have been in support of the constitutional rights of capitalism.

ENI’s attorney claims portions of the proceeds will go toward charities established for the 168 people killed in the Oklahoma City bombing.

But the emphasis is on the words “claims.” It just seems a little hard to trust a company that owns VoyeurDorm.com.

But it’s not like ENI has anything to gain by lying. Oh wait, that’s right, they’re trying to win a case in which they’re suing the U.S. government. Hmmm...it couldn’t be that they’re trying to gain sympathy to win the case, could it?

Of course, it’s hard to blame a company for wanting to get a little national recognition, even if it does so with a complete lack of moral value. What’s depressing about this whole situation is that people will actually want to pay for this and watch a man die before their eyes.

Completely disregarding the whole mess about the ethics of capital punishment, why would anyone want to watch someone be executed?

And no, curiosity is not a legitimate answer.

Understandably, there’s not going to be whole lot of remorse for McVeigh’s death, but wanting to watch it first-hand is just plain demented.

Maybe we can turn executions into sports functions and put it on pay-per-view. Cable companies can offer specials where you pay to watch the Lennox Lewis boxing match and get the McVeigh execution at half price. We can have Super Bowl style parties to watch the execution, with beer, chips and salsa and so on. People will place bets on how long he takes to die or if he’ll cry before the lethal injection. Heck, maybe prisons will even throw cheerleaders into the fray.

Does anyone out there see anything remotely wrong with this?

Granted, these are exaggerated examples, but who doesn’t know at least one person who wouldn’t put past gambling on executions?
Sadly, there are people who’d pay to watch just for the cheap thrill of watching someone die, and therein lies the problem.

Just think of what would have happened if O. J. Simpson had been found guilty and sentenced to be executed. Calling it a circus would be a grave understatement.

Besides, if this is an issue of constitutional rights, doesn’t McVeigh at least have the right to die in relative privacy, no matter how deserving he is of death. Such a public display of death would be an issue of cruel and unusual punishment. That’s why we don’t have public hangings and beheadings anymore.

But at this rate they might be about to make a comeback.

Jordan Blum is a sophomore broadcast journalism major from New Orleans.
He can be reached at (j.d.blum@student.tcu.edu).

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