There really are two separate questions here, and the debate gets muddled when we pretend they’re the same one. First: Should Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army major convicted of murdering 13 people and wounding 32 others in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, face the death penalty? Second: Assuming the execution goes forward, should the…
Back to the Firing Squad?
When the Department of Justice floats the idea of bringing back the firing squad, the immediate reaction from a lot of people is predictable: shock, discomfort, and a chorus of “this feels like a step backward.” But let’s be honest for a second. That reaction says more about how we’ve packaged capital punishment in recent…
