October 9, 2026

 

Catholics Vote Common Good Condemns Hegseth’s Plan to Livestream Firing Squad Execution

 

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 9, 2026 — Catholics Vote Common Good condemns Trump administration Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plan to publicly livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan and calls on the Trump administration to abandon this horrific spectacle.

 

The organization joins Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in rejecting the decision, which he described as “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.”

Denise Murphy McGraw, National Co-Chair of Catholics Vote Common Good, issued the following statement:

 

“Broadcasting a firing squad execution to the world is a grotesque betrayal of human dignity. A government should never turn the taking of a human life into a public spectacle.

 

“Is this what we want our children to see? I, for one, do not! What are we teaching them when our government broadcasts an execution? Our children deserve to learn compassion, justice and respect for human life from the people entrusted to lead this country.

 

“Hasan’s crimes were horrific. We mourn those murdered at Fort Hood and stand with the survivors and families whose lives were forever changed. Their suffering deserves our enduring compassion and support. Livestreaming another death will neither restore their loved ones nor honor their loss.

 

“As our American Pope Leo XIV has said, ‘The right to life is the very foundation of every other human right.’ Our obligation to uphold human dignity does not disappear when someone commits a terrible crime. Catholic teaching calls us to protect society and pursue justice while rejecting the death penalty. 

 

“And where is newly minted Catholic Vice President JD Vance in all of this? Will he stand with the Pope and the Catholic bishops against this barbaric spectacle? Will he use his position to urge the administration to abandon it? The public deserves to know how he reconciles his professed Catholic faith with this plan.

 

“To those who reach out to tell us that progressive Catholics are going to hell: What do you think of this? Where is your outrage over a government planning to broadcast a human being’s execution? How do you reconcile support for this spectacle with the faith you invoke to condemn us?

 

“Respect for life cannot be a slogan we use selectively. It must guide our actions, especially when mercy is difficult and vengeance is popular.

 

“We thank Archbishop Coakley for speaking with moral clarity. Catholics across the political spectrum should join him. President Trump and Pete Hegseth must abandon this plan. Our nation needs leaders who uphold the dignity of life, and Catholics have a responsibility to speak out when those leaders choose cruelty.”

 

Media Contact:
Denise Murphy McGraw
National Co-Chair, Catholics Vote Common Good
Denise@votecommongood.com