1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing to express my utter disgust and horror at Pete Hegseth’s disgraceful plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan. The very idea is barbarous; it’s monstrous. And it puts this country in some of the worst company in the world. We ended public executions a century ago. And now Hegseth wants to bring them back? Why? What purpose will it serve, other than to cement our low standing alongside North Korea, Saudia Arabia, and ISIS? First off, let me state that I am utterly opposed to the death penalty. State-sponsored murder is abhorrent to me. So even if Hegseth were killing Hasan in private, I still would be outraged. There is no way to make capital punishment acceptable. But there are ways to make it even more reprehensible, and that is exactly what Hegseth has done. In his quest to prove his manly warrior bona fides, he is dragging our military into the mire. It’s not enough that he has decided women and people of color aren’t suitable to serve as general officers. It’s not enough he subjected the crew of the Abraham Lincoln to intolerable conditions. Now he will turn U.S. soldiers into murderers, forcing them to shoot to death a man who, let me remind you, is in a wheelchair. Shooting a paraplegic, whatever his crimes, is appalling, and I shudder for the poor soldiers who will have to carry out those orders. I would hope you share my disgust and are willing to make some effort to stop this. I would hope you don’t care to have our country’s name linked forevermore to North Korea, Saudia Arabia, and ISIS. I would hope you have some objection to seeing our military so degraded. Stop this. Now. Stand up for what little is left of this country’s moral standing. Stop Hegseth. Do your damned job.