Plans to livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan could bring the event to New Zealand screens, an expert has warned.
The Pentagon has confirmed the execution will be livestreamed, with more details to follow. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who held the rank of major, is scheduled to be executed at Fort Hood, Texas, on December 3.
He was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a 2009 shooting at the base.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told conservative outlet Real America’s Voice News the execution would be public.
"We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public."
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said US President Donald Trump had approved the execution.
Trump has previously criticised public executions in Iran, but he ordered an attack on Iran at the end of February over its ballistic missiles and the risk it could develop nuclear weapons.
Chief censor says footage can't be banned before it exists
NZ Classification Office chief censor Caroline Flora said the office was aware of the planned livestream and had not previously encountered a nation state or military announcing plans to livestream a legal execution.
“I cannot speculate on the likely classification of something before it exists. The threshold for banning content under New Zealand law is high and requires that we balance freedom of expression with the likelihood of harm," she said.
"Distressing as content may be, it is not always unlawful. Other than the announcement of the intended livestream, we don’t yet have any details about what it might entail, but as we learn more we, and other agencies such as Netsafe, will provide information and advice to the public."
The office said it could not classify a livestream as it was taking place and that no one in New Zealand had the authority to block one, although a recording could be classified if it was submitted.
Execution footage has previously been classified by the office, usually in the context of violent extremist content, active conflicts, or cartels and organised crime. Some content has been banned as objectionable for promoting extreme violence, crime or terrorism. Graphic execution footage may be classified as age-restricted if it is not presented in a way that promotes violence or crime.
University professor warns the planned livestream could raise questions over whether execution footage should be censored. (Source: 1News)
University of Waikato international relations expert Al Gillespie said a live broadcast would turn the execution into an international event, forcing New Zealanders to decide whether they could watch it.
"This is the kind of thing that Mr. Trump thrives on, and the challenge, as I say, for a country like New Zealand is not that this isn't going to be an American thing, but if it's streamed live, it'll be an international thing. Then we'll have to figure out whether our own citizens can watch this act of violence by the American government against one of its own criminals."
'It's entertainment – not justice'
Gillespie said the execution amounted to spectacle rather than justice.
"It's entertainment. It's not justice. It's just entertainment of a very barbaric standard, and this is going in the wrong direction if you're trying to improve society."
He noted few countries still carry out public executions, naming Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. He said China executes more people than any other country but does so in private.
Gillespie also warned the execution could make Hasan a figure to admire.
"You make them into martyrs, and you give them the notoriety that they want."
He said that if Trump wanted to end terror attacks, the move would do the opposite by "making this person famous and incentivising others to follow his path".
Gillespie pointed to public executions in history, which he said ended in the 19th and 20th centuries partly because crowds became desensitised and violence spread into surrounding communities.
"The live streaming of killing people is something that's more akin to terrorists, not actual states, especially those which want to put themselves forward as the foundation of civilisation."
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