Can Livestreaming Violence Reduce Violence?

The decision of the Department of Defense to livestream the execution by firing squad of the Fort Hood mass murderer, Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, is in the news. To be completely transparent, I support capital punishment in rare cases. How can you protect guards and other prisoners if a murderer with a life-in-prison sentence has nothing else to fear? Is a life of solitary confinement a guarantee against an escape attempt? And what about murderers who are paroled? Think about rape, robbery, and home invasion victims? Is there a deterrent effect knowing that capital punishment is the mandatory sentence for a murder committed during those crimes?

The purpose of capital punishment is not revenge, but protecting the common good. Obviously, executing a killer, usually after years of judicial review and appeals, has a deterrent effect for him. He definitely won't murder again. Which raises a serious question. How many murderers have been released from prison to kill someone else? It's not a moot point. There is research out there that gives us some idea of the magnitude of the problem. I can also offer one anecdotal situation from my own brother who knew a co-worker killed by a paroled murderer he picked up who was hitchhiking. What a graphic illustration of the saying, "No good deed goes unpunished."

Before you dismiss the problem or claim that you can't be pro-life if you support capital punishment, here's a report from a 2016 conference:

Released to Kill Again: An Analysis of Paroled Murderers Who Murder Again While on Parole 

September 2016
Conference: Society for Police and Criminal Psychology
At: Austin, TX

Abstract
The current study will examine the characteristics of over 400 murderers in the United States who were convicted of murder, subsequently paroled or released from prison, and then murdered again while on parole or release. Key findings will include an analysis of the length of time from parole to murder as well as a general profile of the reoffenders. Using the parole-to-murder times to inform decisions regarding the hiring of ex-offenders will be discussed.

Think about that for a minute. Four hundred innocent people died because the murderer was released and killed again. Did their lives have any value? Here's the information from one slide in the powerpoint presentation.

Radford Serial Killer Database -- Since 1950 (date of last kill) 

2,883 serial killers in the United States -- Of those 2,883:

• 478 killed again while on parole for murder (16.6%)

• 138 killed again while in prison (4.8%)

• 23 killed while escaped from prison for murder (0.8%) 

• 11 killed while on NGRI release for murder (0.4%) 

• 650 (22.5%) killed again after an initial conviction for murder!

How pro-life is it to put vicious killers back on the streets to kill again? The level of violence in our society today is shocking and horrifying. Did you read about the arrest recently of the trans individual here in the U.S. who coached the trans 18-year-old who committed the mass murders at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia last February? The two biological men, one hardly out of short pants, conspired and the American murder coach, James Cody Bryant, 30, livestreamed the rampage. According to news reports he helped the Canadian boy, Jesse Van Rootselaar, get the family car started after he killed two family members, so he could continue his killing spree at the school. The planning for the event began six months earlier. Bryant kept the plans hidden, never warning authorities about the coming atrocity.

This is not a Halloween horror film, folks, but a reality show complete with Bryant livestreaming the mass murder as it occurred. [Source] Not only that, families of the victims received death threats! Read that again. The families of the dead children had to be moved to safe locations because they were receiving death threats! Talk about diabolical disorientation!

CNN reported on the fascination with violence by the shooter whom they continually call "she" while well aware of his biological identity as a male. And that, friends, is part of the problem. When you play make believe and encourage the mental illness of the confused trans community aren't you complicit in the end result? Maybe the killers have convinced themselves they're in a video game! No one really dies. It's all pretend.

Which brings me to my original question. Can livestreaming violence reduce violence? Will livestreaming the execution of Hasan deter potential murderers or will it be like the bloody violence shown on the evil Watch People Die website which so fascinated the Tumbler Ridge killer? I'm not sure,

As a pro-life activist who in the past gave dozens of presentations on abortion using graphic photos of precious little ones dismembered by scalpel or scalded to death by saline solution, I am not opposed to showing violence against the innocent. But will watching the execution by firing squad deter future killers? Or will it just attract those addicted to violence, like vampires drinking blood? I have my doubts. 

And yet, neither can I condemn the action by the Defense Department. Will it arouse sympathy for the unrepentant mass murderer? Will it foster an attitude of vengeance? I don't know the answers. But I'm grieved at what's happened to our culture. 

The solution is the same as it always is -- embrace Christianity. Love God above all things and our neighbor as ourself. Desire to do God's will. Capital punishment has a way of focusing the mind like it did with Pranzini, the killer adopted by St. Therese of Liseux as a child, who took the cross from the priest on the scaffold and kissed it. Therese saw that as an answer to her prayers for his redemption. Can we not hope for final repentance for Hasan even if he's shown none up til now?

May we all kiss the cross and embrace the will of God in all things. I'm praying for Nidal Hasan blinded by Islamic hate, and for the Tumbler Ridge killer and his coach, blinded by hate for anyone who questions their lifestyle. May they repent and turn to the cross like other killers before them. And may we all repent and embrace God's will. That is the key to happiness.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.