There is no precedent in the modern era for holding a public execution, said John Mills, a lawyer who works with death row inmates. “It seems to me designed to be a grotesque spectacle,” he said. “It is an unprecedented decision in the modern era, so it is on uncertain legal ground,” he added. A military execution requires the approval of the president of the United States, according to military law. It also requires an appellate review, where a higher court inspects the decision, and a final ruling on its legality to move forward. The appeal process for Hasan is not over, Mills said, and he will likely seek a review of his conviction and sentence in federal court, which would likely stay the execution. As such, Mills said he would be surprised if the execution occurred. “Attempting to livestream it, an execution by firing squad, is little more than an attention-grabbing attempt by the Trump administration and is unlikely to happen, much less provide any semblance of justice,” he added. Certain states require some form of public viewing of executions. Many states require the presence of journalists and the person to be executed can invite other people. Others also allow ordinary citizens to volunteer as witnesses. But “there has never been a live-streamed execution,” says Deborah Denno, a law professor at Fordham University who has studied execution methods in the United States. A livestreamed execution “would force a level of transparency that we’ve probably never seen before in this country,” he says. “More than half the country wants the death penalty – even though it’s on the decline – you could argue that ‘if you want the death penalty, then let’s show you how it’s done in this country.’ And people would have to realize exactly what’s happening in a way that a lot of people don’t.” Denno says there are important considerations for a livestream, such as whether it would be divided by age and whether it would contravene the policies of the online platform hosting the viewing. It is unclear where the live stream will be available.
