Should Execution Be Televised?

May 4 -- Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh is set to be executed on May 16 and lots of people argue that it should be televised — even some who don't support capital punishment.

The calls come from journalists seeking open access to the execution of the man convicted of the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil, from death penalty proponents and victims' rights activists who say McVeigh's death will bring closure to the grieving, and from abolitionists who believe that when Americans actually witness an execution it will galvanize them against the death penalty.

But the groups are also divided, with many saying public viewing of the execution would not be a good thing. Their reasons vary as widely as their views on capital punishment.

McVeigh himself has said he wants his execution broadcast, which has fueled arguments by those who believe it should not be televised. McVeigh lawyer Rob Nigh Jr. says his client wants to hold the government up to as much scrutiny as possible, but a Bureau of Prisons spokesman said broadcasting the execution has not been considered and will not happen.

Attorney General John Ashcroft ruled last month that 10 relatives of victims of the Oklahoma City bombing would be allowed to view McVeigh's execution firsthand, while another 250 would be given the chance to see it on closed circuit television. But he said there would be no wider public viewing.

Deep Divisions

Anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean called for the event to be aired, saying that is the best way to put an end to executions.

But some opponents of the death penalty, such as Amaju Baraka of Amnesty International, say their opposition to capital punishment does not allow them to condone even one execution — even if public viewing of the event would galvanize opposition.

Supporters of capital punishment are equally divided, between those who maintain that widespread viewing of executions would increase the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime and help heal the emotional wounds of the family of a killer's victims, and those who feel the public is already exposed to too much fictional death in movies and television without being offered the real thing.