The Trump administration abandoned its plan to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood murderer. But the fact that it wanted an audience in the first place tells us something disturbing about how the people in power understand justice. When the government turns an execution into a public spectacle, the line between administering justice and staging entertainment becomes dangerously blurred. On November 5, 2009, Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, killing

There’s a familiar argument that comes up anytime the death penalty is discussed, and it usually arrives wrapped in frustration: why should taxpayers have to spend decades paying to house, feed, and provide medical care for someone who committed a horrific crime? Why not carry out the sentence and be done with it? It’s an argument that feels intuitive, almost practical. Shorter process, final outcome, less long-term cost. Clean. Efficient. Obvious. Except it isn’t true. The d