The Debate on the Television of Executions
The debate about the TV of executions is one of the most delicate issues in the field of justice and accountability to the public. While the public has a proper to know how justice system work through openness in all the activities, there exist some things that, to some people, may cause a serious negative impact when exposed to the public. This concept, therefore, bring about the controversy on whether the habits of television should be broadcasted, or whether it must remain a private activity through the state officials responsible for the conduct. While his public demand to understand the truth and all the activities that are conducted via their government, television of executions has a lot of psychological effect in the minds of the public, therefore there is no need to expose the entire public on the act.
The Dignity of Human Beings
One of the most virtue that all human being deserve is the right for self-dignity, regardless their level of insanity. The act of publicly exposing a barbaric act of execution, therefore, becomes a disregard to the dignity of the human being as a whole. It may, therefore, trigger a different reaction for the public, since most religions and cultures have different beliefs on the taking life from an individual. One of the most. One of the most cases of execution that was broadcasted was that for Saddam Hussein, which in the real sense created a reaction that enabled the extremist Muslim organization to build up a serious resistance against the act.
Public Sympathy and Capital Punishment
It is also true that when the public is exposed to the execution acts, it will make them develop a sympathetic feeling towards the executed, and ignore or not put into account the criminal activity that the executed committed. With time, the public will definitely propose to pass a bill that illegalizes execution of the convicted. A good example is the case of the execution officer, Albert Camus, who, in his essay of "Reflection of the Guillotine", after observing several people being executed, he became against the punishment of capital offenses. Therefore, if the act if televised, it will attract the attention of many sympathizers who will as well gang up against the punishment of capital offenses.
The Dignity of Human Life
While the proponents of the television of public base their argument on the concept of democracy, that require openness, transparency, and accountability to the public, they fail to consider the interest of the public that calls for a safe environment that does not undermine their dignity. Taking a person's life and publicly showing it is a disregard for the importance of life. In this case, it may change the public to start viewing their lives as equal to the lives of the pets and sheep they own. It, therefore, becomes s very necessarily for the supporters of television of execution to consider the dignity of human life.
The Impact on Families and the Importance of Control
Even though the proponents' concern is to videotape the execution for future use on the internet, it does not make clear sense on what context will the public require the video. No individual is interested in seeing a person takes the life of another. In this context, the release of the videos of the internet will as well affect the families of the executed. It is likely to cause a sense of public humiliation and undermines the dignity of the surviving relatives. Therefore, under no sense is television of execution becomes important to the public. It is, therefore, important to keep the routine of using a report on the execution through written report or verbal broadcast rather than lively broadcasting on televisions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, even though it is necessary for the public to know the truth about how various institutions like the judicial sectors operate, it is very important to take into account the public interest and control the level of consumption of information to the public. This is based on the fact that information may be dangerous if not will present. Television of execution is one of that information that becomes unhealthy to the public, and therefore, requires a proper control. In this case, the public entrusts the judicial system and the law enforcement agency of conducting their duties as stipulated in the constitution, based on minimal supervision.
Work Cited
Lat, David, and Zachary Shemtob. "The Execution Should Be Televised: An Amendment Making Executions Public." Tenn. L. Rev. 78 (2010): 859.
