Eight in ten Americans oppose plans to livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, according to a poll by The Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos. Mental health experts have warned that watching an execution could cause distress and potentially worsen existing mental health problems.

The survey also found that 53% of respondents supported executing Hasan by firing squad.

That opposition crosses nearly every demographic and political line, with majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents agreeing that a public broadcast goes too far.

The findings come amid concerns from mental health experts about the potential psychological effects of watching graphic violence.

MAGA Republican men were the only subgroup more likely to support livestreaming than oppose it, with 57% in favour and 29% against. On 15 October, President Donald Trump announced that the execution would not be livestreamed.

Could Livestreaming an Execution Traumatise Viewers?

Dr Simon Duff, a forensic psychologist at the University of Nottingham, told The Guardian that research into journalists' experiences of witnessing violence suggests that exposure to traumatic events can trigger trauma responses.

He warned that viewers driven by morbid curiosity often watch despite potential harm, noting that complications during executions can dramatically heighten viewer trauma.

Professor Neil Greenberg, a professor of defence mental health at King's College London, said trigger warnings do not routinely lead people to avoid distressing material and may instead cause anticipatory anxiety.

He advised people not to watch, warning that those with pre-existing mental health problems could be particularly vulnerable to distress or a deterioration in their mental health. He also said he hoped mainstream broadcasters would not transmit highly traumatic images or sounds.

That psychological apprehension is mirrored among respondents in The Washington Post survey. Bruce Gonka, a 70-year-old Republican voter, opposed the broadcast, arguing that putting the lethal event on television would open a dangerous can of worms driven purely by sensational shock value.

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Plan to Livestream Hasan's Execution Dividing Opinions

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth sparked backlash earlier this month after announcing that Nidal Malik Hasan, the former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood in 2009, was scheduled to be executed by firing squad in Texas on 3 December.

Defending the plan to broadcast the execution, Hegseth insisted the public needs to see the severe consequences of an attack inside military ranks.

While President Donald Trump firmly backed the livestream execution at the time, the idea has rattled even senior hardline Republicans.

House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that broadcast footage could become a dangerous recruiting tool for terrorists. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance also voiced hesitation, saying he would not watch if the execution is broadcast.

The poll by The Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos found broad opposition across the spectrum: 91% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 64% of Republicans reject the livestream.

Trump Cancels Plan to Livestream Execution

President Trump announced on Thursday that the federal government would not broadcast the execution, reversing the contentious proposal previously outlined by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump maintained that streaming the execution 'might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan,' but conceded that 'many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.'

Does a Public Execution Actually Deter Crime?

If carried out as scheduled, Hasan's execution would be the first US military execution since 1961 and the first by military firing squad since 1945, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Historian Professor Rosalind Crone told The Guardian that public executions were abolished in England and Wales in 1868 amid growing concerns about their effects on spectators. She said crowds could become rowdy and celebratory rather than being deterred from crime.

She warned that a livestream of the execution would likely create fresh dangers rather than serve as a genuine public deterrent.

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