Can they stoop any lower? Surely this is inhuman?

[Touchwood2654]

From The Washington Post

It is really scary to think that people like Hesgeth are in charge. Hassan will get his martyrdom and the damage it will do to the US internationally will be huge.

If you would have told me at the time Obama was president that the US would soon be executing people live on TV I would have said it could never happen. This is truly appalling.

No need to go back to medieval times for that. It’s happening in many countries still to this day. Not just the U.S. In some countries they’ve found another use for cranes, and football pitches for spectator enjoyment.

Rather bad taste, I feel. Have some decorum.

It doesn't. Countries that have the death penalty (or that live stream them...) do not have lower rates of crimes like murder. In fact they generally have higher rates.

I don't know about others, but personally, the reason I don't go around killing people isn't because of the punishment for doing so. I don't do it because it is fundamentally and morally wrong to me. I would imagine that most of the people who commit awful crimes do so because they either assume they won't get caught, or don't care if they do. If an actual effective deterent existed, it would be being used - the fact that murder and rape and other awful crimes continue to happen across the world tells us that nothing is a deterrent to the people willing to commit them.

Public executions in Saudi are apparently held in a public square on a Friday.

There were 96 executions between 1 January and 22 June 2026, according to a report by Amnesty International.
Details About Muhammad Saad al-Beshi (Saudi Public Executioner)
Career: He has been active as a state executioner since 1998, beginning his career handling prisoners at a facility in Taif.
Role & Duties: Beyond executing death sentences via a government-gifted sword (and occasionally firearms), he is also tasked with performing court-ordered limb amputations under Sharia law.
Public Profile: In rare interviews with local and international media (such as Arab News and the BBC), al-Beshi has stated that he views his job as a religious duty and leads a completely normal family life, even training his son, Musaed, to succeed him.

Once a criminal has decided they won't get caught, then all a harsher deterrent will do is increase their desire not to get caught.

When we treat people humanely we recognise, honour, and reinforce our own humanity. When we dehumanise people we do ourselves moral injury. As a society we should hold ourselves to a higher standard than criminals, and treat everyone humanely - not just the ones we like, and not just the ones who are "good".

It is very Running Man (the Arnie version). Would the general public watch public executions like entertainment, we'll find out soon. I have a feeling they will.

Whatever your views about the death penalty putting it on tv as entertainment - which it is whatever way you look at it - is barbaric and sick. What a terrible example America is setting, in this regard they are no better than the Taliban.

Google sez

These are results for viewing a live streamed execution in uk contravene any laws
Search instead for viewing a livestreaned excution in uk contravene any laws

AI Overview

Simply viewing a live-streamed execution does not, by itself, explicitly violate a standalone UK criminal law, but doing so heavily intersects with legal frameworks that could result in criminal prosecution depending on the circumstances. www.ofcom.org.uk +1

While the act of passively watching real-world violence online occupies a complex area of UK legislation, several factors determine whether viewing or interacting with such content is unlawful:

1. Counter-Terrorism Legislation

If the execution is conducted or broadcasted by a proscribed terrorist organization, viewing it can directly trigger a criminal offense. BBC

Under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (as updated), it is an offense to repeatedly view or stream terrorist material online.
If a person intentionally streams an execution video published by an extremist or terrorist group, they can face up to 15 years in prison. GOV.UK +1

1. The Online Safety Act 2023

The Online Safety Act 2023 places a strict statutory duty on internet service providers and social media platforms to immediately remove and prevent the viral spread of "illegal content," which explicitly includes real-world violent crimes, murder, and live-streamed physical harm. Under Ofcom regulations, platforms are required to use human moderators and automated tools to kill live streams featuring imminent physical harm. GOV.UK +1

1. Sharing, Recording, and Interacting with the Stream

While simply watching might not always cross the criminal threshold, active participation will: Distribution: Sharing links to the stream, hosting the stream, or downloading and redistributing the footage could see you prosecuted under communications laws for distributing "grossly offensive" or extreme material. The Crown Prosecution Service

Encouragement: If a user interacts with the live stream by leaving comments that encourage violence, self-harm, or murder, they can be prosecuted for inciting violence or under the communication offenses of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Summary Matrix
ActionUK Legal StatusPrimary Relevant Framework
Passively watching an authorized foreign state execution (e.g., public US state executions)
Likely Legal (though highly restricted by platforms)
Controlled by platform age-verification and Ofcom safety guidelines
Repeatedly streaming an execution hosted by a terrorist group
🚨 Illegal
Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000
Recording, downloading, or resharing the footage
⚠️ Highly Unlawful
Communications Offences & Online Safety Act 2023
Commenting on the stream to encourage violence
🚨 Illegal
Incitement / Communications Offences

I was taken aback by this when I read it in the news - live streaming it?? They are idiots if they think that will act as a deterrent. All they are doing is handing out a thrill to every creepy weirdo who stalks the internet. Treating death like entertainment. I agree that the prisoner in question doesn't deserve to live after what he did, but live streaming it is uncivilized and plays to the most depraved depths of human nature. People will watch this death to get a kick out of it - it's like a snuff movie. Disgusting.

I agree with you. In some countries life is cheap and I think an ordinary person is more likely to commit a murder in societies like that. The amount of murder is also going to depend on how much money a society is willing to spend on mental health, alcohol rehab, drugs rehab and housing. There are a lot of homeless people in America.

It doesn't help when you have an advertisement in the bottom right hand corner of your screen right now for a violent film to do with the Peasants' Revolt showing people killing each other.

All they are actually doing is desensitising people to violence. Stupid idiots.

Trump and his supporters are destroying both the reputation of the US and the very values it is supposedly built on, in the space of just a few years. And there are PP on here who are cheering it on. The consequences of acts like this will be far, far wider than simply killing this one terrible man and livestreaming it.

My sympathy is with innocent victims and families of Inn cent victims. The murders deserve everything they get.

Reminds me of the days of public executions.

Which seeing as we are going backwards as a race seems quite apt.

Who was the very child who was abused and raped that you say you want to protect?

Just read it all now on Wikipedia. What she did to Colleen was bloody horrendous.

I agree. It is a total disgrace, and they have the nerve to condemn how other Countries do things. How are they any better than those nations that they are quick to call 'backwards'. They should think hard, on the terminology that they see fit, to throw around. Shame on them.

I could never watch a live stream or an execution at all actually, however to be quite frank, when it comes to cold blooded murderers, I don't care whether they are executed 'humanely' or not - as long as they are wiped off the planet.

Perhaps, it will work as a deterrent for calculative crimes, perhaps not for murder crimes committed during the 'heat of the moment'.

The amount of children tortured and then murderer in the UK by even their parents / carers is enough for me to justify capital punishment, whether it is made into a spectacle or not, I don't care.

Live streaming executions is what ISIS did, and look how that shocked the world. I cannot believe that anyone else would even consider filming someone's death, let alone broadcasting it... and an execution at that. It's barbaric.

Not only will this not act as a deterrent, it will radicalise violent people all over the world. If PP actually care about innocent victims, then bear in mind that this will result in more acts of terrorism, not fewer. Islamic terrorists are motivated by the idea of dying for their cause and becoming martyrs.

Never one to miss an opportunity, Trump will probably broadcast it live and exclusive on his truth social media and charge $10,000 to view it.

Many.
It was a popular pastime back in the day, seeing justice being done.

You bring up very good points.

Especially child abusers and molester etc. I saw a video of a street child around 6 or 7 years.old and the man was happily beating it and pinching it in the back while the child cried and writhed in pain. I was saying to myself id like him writhing around in pain. He was really tormenting this child and his mouth was smiling as he really hurt this innocent kid in a dirty vest and pants while some pig filmed it.