Should the Fort Hood Shooter Be Executed?

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The issues that matter most, right here, The Drew Mariani Show.

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On Relevant Radio.

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The president just posted to social that he will not, again, not live stream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter. He says, quote, I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the world to witness how America deals with terrorists and scum like Hasan, but many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die through streaming or any other visual device. He will die as scheduled by Firing Squad, but this event will not be streamed again.

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It's The Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio.

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Now, that was CBS on President Trump's decision not to stream the Fort Hood shooter's execution. We talked about this earlier in the week, right? We said, hey, what's gonna happen? Some thought he was really going to lean towards it.

And I'm sure he received a lot of feedback on this decision. It raises a lot of question. I want to talk to the death penalty with you. I'd love to get your take on it. How do you feel about the news? Where do you stand when it comes to the death penalty? When do you, you know, what do you do when someone commits a crime so horrific that it seems that justice itself demands the ultimate punishment? So the president, weighing that reportedly reversed course, plans, he's not gonna publicly broadcast this execution, which is, I think, the right move. But also raises a much deeper question. Is the death penalty ever justified? Can you defend the dignity of human life while supporting capital punishment? The Catholic Church has something important to say about all this and its teaching, and we're gonna be joined in a few moments by Dr. Daniel Lendman, and we'd love to hear from him and get his take on it. He is Dean of Students and Assistant Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University, and we'll tap into his expertise. But if you want to get in on the conversation, feel free to sound off the numbers 8888-914-9149, 8888-914-9149. Do you support the death penalty? Have you lost somebody to a violent crime? And how has that experience shaped your understanding of justice and forgiveness? Do you agree with the president? Do you make the right move? Or do you think it sends an errant message to others who may want to try to perpetrate these types of crimes?

If you're not familiar with the story, I'll give you a quick, quick thumbnail on it.

This was back on November of 2009 So this happened, gosh, how many years ago is that now, Nick? 17 years? I think, yeah, about 17, almost 17 years. In Fort Hood, Texas, there was an army psychiatrist, a guy named Major Nadal Hasan, opened fire, went in on fellow soldiers, he killed 13 people. He wounded more than 30 others. There was an unborn child that lost its life too. And these are men and women who served the country, many of them preparing for deployment. And suddenly they're not even on, it's not the enemy abroad, it's right there at Fort Hood. And he was convicted and sentenced to death in 2013 And now years later, he's back in the news. And this has reignited a national debate about capital punishment, particularly following reports that the president was thinking about publicly executing him. Of course, again, if you're just joining me, he has reversed that decision, he's not gonna do it. But I want you to consider something that goes beyond this one terrible crime. We'll talk about it and we'll open the phones to you, too.

What is the purpose of justice, right? Is it simply to punish someone for the evil they committed?

Is it to protect society? Is it to deter others? Or is it a room for mercy even when, let's say, a crime seems unforgivable? And the theology of this is kind of interesting. The Catholic Church has always recognized the authority of the state to impose capital punishment under certain circumstances. In fact, Thomas Aquinas defended the authority in interest of the common good.

Travel across the centuries to John Paul II, and he urged the Church to move away from executions because he really believed that modern prisons have become increasingly capable of protecting innocent. The thought was, if you can't protect society from an unjust aggressor, then they can be executed. But today, we've got those capabilities, right? John Paul passes away in 2018 Pope Francis approved a revision of the paragraph in the Catechism, and you ought to reference it. It's 2267, and he declared that the death penalty is inadmissible because it's an attack on the inviolability and the dignity of the person. It raises a lot of questions. Let's talk about it. As a Catholic, do you wrestle with this? How do you reconcile the Catholic teaching that the Church has had for centuries with this new development, if you will? And there are arguments on both sides of this. I'm joined right now, as I said, by Dr. Daniel Lendman. He is Dean of the Students, Assistant Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University. It's good to have him with me. Doctor, thank you for your time.