Fort Hood attacker's execution by firing squad will be livestreamed, Pentagon says

Certain states require some form of public viewing of executions. Many states require journalists to be present, and the person due to be executed can invite people. Others also allow ordinary citizens to volunteer as witnesses.But "there hasn't ever been a livestreamed execution," says Deborah Denno, a law professor at Fordham University, who has studied US execution methods.A livestreamed execution would "force a level of transparency that we have probably never seen before in this country", she says. "More than half of the country wants the death penalty - even though that's on the decline - an argument could be made that 'if you want the death penalty, then we are going to show you how it's conducted in this country'. And people would have to realise exactly what's happening in a way that many people ignore."Denno says there are important considerations for a livestream such as whether it would be age-redistricted and whether it would contravene the policies of the online platform that hosts the viewing.It is unclear where the livestream will be available. Most major social media platforms have rules that prohibit or restrict livestreaming explicit content.While there were more...