Leading Catholic bishop urges Pentagon against livestreaming execution

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spoke out Friday against the Defense Department’s plan to livestream a firing squad execution next month.

Archbishop Paul Coakley said he felt “shock and sorrow” when he learned of the plan to livestream the execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009. A Pentagon official told The Hill that the military execution, the first in more than 60 years and the first by firing squad since World War II, will be livestreamed .

“In no way can Hasan’s actions be condoned, but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered,” Coakley said.

Coakley cited the biblical teaching not to “repay anyone evil for evil” and said a public execution will “undermine the moral fabric” of the nation. He said the execution would be a “blight on the conscience” of the American people.

“I pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel that we as a nation may always choose life even in the most trying times and circumstances,” Coakley said.

Hasan carried out the deadliest shooting ever on a U.S. military installation. During his trial, in which he represented himself, Hasan said he “switched sides” and committed the shooting “in response to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The shooter was found guilty in 2013 of 45 counts of premeditated and attempted premeditated murder. His case was tied up in the appeals process until the Supreme Court denied his final petition in 2025.

The decision to stream the military execution of Hasan has been met with criticism from both sides of the aisle. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) slammed the decision as “beyond disgusting.”

“Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do,” Tillis wrote on social platform X . “It should not be happening in America.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also called the decision to livestream the killing “disgusting” and suggested Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could be mimicking ISIS-style executions.

“I understand that in this country we have the death penalty, but public execution is medieval,” Murphy said in an appearance on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

Hegseth told The Hill that the victims and survivors “deserve justice without delays.” President Trump signed off on Hegseth’s recommendation of death by firing squad, which will happen at Fort Hood on Dec. 3.