Senators Warren, Markey, and Representative McGovern: Whatever one believes about the death penalty (we are both strongly opposed to it), turning the execution of a human being into a public event open not only to a live audience, but also made available to everyone — to millions, really — through live-streaming is a perversion of the responsible, moral, and ethical administration of justice. Indeed, doing so would be a salacious and cruel display of authoritarianism bordering on the barbarous. The model such a display would provide to our young people runs counter to our hopes of teaching them the qualities of mercy and respect for basic human dignity. Furthermore, it would considerably diminish the already tarnished reputation of the United States amongst the nations of the world.
Please do everything you and your colleagues can do to prevent this gross and abhorrent misuse of our system of justice.
John K. Bollard and Margaret G. Lloyd
Florence