Amherst professor Austin Sarat discusses President Trump’s authorization of a firing-squad execution for Nidal Hasan, the first U.S. military execution since 1961, placing it within the history of military executions, the current military death row, and Secretary Hegseth’s push to revive the practice. Professor Sarat argues that reviving military executions reflects a cruelty-focused “warrior ethos” that departs from the modern military’s tradition of mercy, and that it will damage the teamwork and community on which military effectiveness depends.
Amherst professor Austin Sarat discusses the historical and contemporary use of the firing squad as a method of execution in the United States, which is currently rare but authorized in a few states, including South Carolina, which recently executed Stephen Bryant using this method. Professor Sarat argues that execution by firing squad is a brutal, cold-blooded killing that is not a humane method of capital punishment and reflects a problematic, violent history, thus lessening society as a whole.
