May 18, 2001

Punishment and the Paradox of Violence

In the weeks leading up to the May 16 execution of Timothy J. McVeigh, debate has arisen over whether the execution -- the federal government's first in nearly 40 years -- should be broadcast for public viewing. McVeigh, whose bombing in Oklahoma City six years ago killed 168 people, requested the broadcast; families of his victims also asked to be present for the execution. Public executions, whether by the king, the state, or a lynch mob, were a fact of life in Europe and the United States

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