Word: executioner
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In characteristically subdued Saudi style, the debate prompted by Fahd's proposed reforms is neither conducted in public meetings nor reported in the country's media. The government bans public gatherings of three or more people, and press censorship precludes coverage of internal disputes. Instead, petitions and pamphlets, widely disseminated...
But the issues go beyond an abstract debate over First Amendment press rights. At the heart of the case are troubling emotional questions about whether a social need is met by graphically showing justice being served in its most extreme form. Viewing an execution could repulse so many people that...
Death-penalty proponents are similarly split. Ernest van den Haag, a former law professor at Fordham University who supports the death penalty, fears that televised executions might stir a misplaced sympathy for murderers. "Our compassion for the murderer whose life is cut short before our eyes may overcome our sense...
The debate over whether the death penalty is a deterrent to crime is writ large when it comes to televising it. The horrible images, proponents say, would certainly give pause to potential criminals. Others contend that the gruesome thrill of watching a state-sanctioned murder could, in some twisted way...
But the debate over the death penalty is about more than deterrence, and so too is the debate over televising executions. Some crimes are so heinous that society thirsts for vengeance against the perpetrators. That base yet understandable desire, in addition to mere morbid curiosity, is what prompted thousands of...