When a government invites the public to watch a human being die, it asks us to become spectators to an act that should trouble every conscience. I write with profound disgust and moral outrage at the announced plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad. The proposal reaches beyond the already grave question of capital punishment and asks us to accept the broadcasting of a deliberate killing as an appropriate exercise of government power. As a bishop and pastor, I believe this moment demands a clear and public response. I invite fellow clergy, people of every faith, and all people of good will to join me in condemning this return to the dark ages.
Our condemnation must begin with an unwavering commitment to the victims of the Fort Hood murders, the survivors, and the families whose lives were forever changed. Hasan's crimes were horrific, and nothing in this appeal excuses his actions or diminishes his responsibility. Those who mourn deserve enduring care, and those who survived deserve support that continues long after public attention moves elsewhere. Justice requires accountability, and public safety requires that a person responsible for such violence be prevented from harming others. Life imprisonment can provide that protection without another killing. Broadcasting an execution cannot restore a stolen life, heal a wounded body, or resolve the grief of a family. We honor the victims through remembrance, compassionate action, and a commitment to justice that preserves our own humanity.
That commitment carries particular weight for Christians, whose faith centers on Jesus, who suffered a public execution. He knew the violence of the state, the humiliation of being displayed before a crowd, and the abandonment that can surround a condemned person. From the cross, he prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). His example challenges us to practice mercy when anger makes mercy difficult and to recognize human dignity when a person's actions make that recognition painful. People of other faiths, together with those who profess no religious belief, can stand alongside us in refusing to make cruelty a public virtue. Our traditions and convictions may differ, but we can share the determination that no human death should become a spectacle.
Because this matter is so grave, I am attaching copies of the letters I wrote and mailed earlier this week to the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense. In those letters, I expressed my opposition to Hasan's execution and appealed for a response grounded in the sanctity of life, justice, and mercy. I urged the President to grant clemency and substitute life imprisonment for the death sentence. The subsequent announcement of a planned livestream makes it even more urgent that these concerns be shared publicly. I offer these copies so that you may read my appeals and consider adding your own voice.
The next step belongs to all of us who believe that conscience must shape public life. I ask you to join me in calling upon the President and the Secretary of Defense to abandon this proposed broadcast and halt the execution. Speak within your congregations, from your pulpits, among your neighbors, and through letters to public officials. Bring this concern into prayer and public witness while continuing to remember the victims, survivors, and grieving families of Fort Hood. Even those who disagree about capital punishment can recognize the moral danger of inviting the public to watch a person die. Religious leaders have a particular responsibility to challenge the use of faith to bless vengeance or excuse cruelty. People of good will have an equally essential role in insisting that government exercise its power with restraint and respect for human life. Our response should be clear, principled, and persistent, offering a witness that outlasts the outrage of a single news cycle. Let our witness teach the next generation that human dignity is ours to defend, even when the person before us has violated the dignity of others.
-Re: Opposition to the Planned Execution of Nidal Malik Hasan
Dear Secretary Hegseth:
The authority to command others carries a profound obligation to distinguish what can be done from what ought to be done. As Bishop of the Diocese of Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs, of the Reformed Catholic Church, I write to condemn your recommendation that Nidal Malik Hasan be executed by an Army firing squad. I urge you to reconsider that recommendation, support presidential clemency, and pursue every lawful measure within your authority to prevent this execution. Life imprisonment without parole would provide permanent accountability and protection without requiring military personnel to take the life of a prisoner in custody. The gravity of Hasan’s crimes makes this decision consequential, but it does not make execution morally necessary.
The Fort Hood attack was a terrible violation of human life and of the trust that members of the military should be able to place in one another. Thirteen people were killed, many others were wounded, and families and survivors continue to carry the consequences of that violence. Hasan bears responsibility for those crimes and must remain accountable for them. My appeal does not excuse his actions or presume that those he harmed should feel any particular way about his punishment. Their grief must never become a rhetorical instrument for either side of the debate over capital punishment. Our common obligation is to honor those killed, accompany those who survived, and provide lasting support to the people whose lives were changed.
The scriptural foundation of my concern begins with the belief that every human being bears the image of God. Genesis describes humanity as created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), making each murder an assault upon a life of sacred worth. That same conviction places limits on how we treat the person who committed the murder. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7), and calls us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Such teaching is most demanding when the person before us has caused devastating harm. Mercy in this situation can take the form of lifelong confinement rather than execution, preserving public safety while refusing to declare a human life disposable. It is a disciplined exercise of moral responsibility.
Scripture also cautions against allowing punishment to become vengeance. Paul writes, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves” (Romans 12:19), and then urges believers to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). I recognize that public authority has duties different from those of an individual, including the duty to restrain violence and enforce lawful judgments. Yet those duties do not place government beyond moral scrutiny or establish that every legally available punishment should be imposed. Where secure imprisonment can protect the community, choosing death requires a justification that the seriousness of the crime alone cannot provide. I believe the planned execution fails that moral test.
The proposed use of an Army firing squad also deserves particular reflection because it would direct military personnel to carry out the killing. Those assigned to such a duty are people with consciences, families, and their own moral and spiritual responsibilities. We should not assume that the existence of an order resolves every ethical question for those required to obey it. The military’s commitment to discipline and lawful service can be expressed through secure custody and permanent confinement. Asking service members to end the life of a prisoner when those alternatives are available places an avoidable burden upon them.
Secretary Hegseth, I respectfully ask you to withdraw your support for this execution and recommend that the President commute Hasan’s sentence to life imprisonment without parole. I further ask you to work within your authority with the President and the Secretary of the Army to prevent the execution while clemency is considered. At the same time, I urge a renewed commitment to sustained care for Fort Hood survivors and the families of those killed. Our nation owes them more than the completion of a punishment; it owes them faithful remembrance and continuing support. Honor their lives through a decision that protects others, preserves accountability, and refuses to make another death the final word.
Respectfully, and
In Christ’s Love,
Most Rev. William R. Cavins
Bishop
