1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I am outraged and appalled by this administration's plan to livestream an execution. Public executions are barbaric relics of a bygone era. They are a sign of a devolving society, not a sign of a strong democracy. The death penalty is inhumane and inexcusable in all its forms, but livestreaming it so that those with power can choose to vilify whichever demographic they please as a form of propaganda is even worse. And this would dramatically lower our already diminished status on the world stage. The UN calls public executions a form of torture. Congress needs to do anything and everything it can to stop it. PLEASE impeach Pete Hegseth. He is absolutely unfit for this role. Following that, work to abolish capital punishment for good. It doesn’t matter what the convicted have done or not done, it matters what WE choose to do, and the human consciousness should not be on the table when it comes to punishment.