Pope Leo XIV Condemns Death Penalty as 'Inadmissible' Amid US Controversy Over Livestreamed Execution

Pope Leo XIV attends a weekly general audience at St Peter's basilica in The Vatican [File: AFP]

Pope Leo XIV has declared that the death penalty is “inadmissible” as his home country, the United States, announces plans to livestream an execution by firing squad. Marking World Day Against the Death Penalty on Saturday, the pope reiterated the Catholic Church’s teaching on capital punishment, writing on X that it was “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”.

“The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment,” his post stated. “Effective systems of detention have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption,” added the leader of the Catholic Church.

The American Pope’s remarks arrive just days after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday that the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan on December 3 will be broadcast live. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a shooting at the Fort Hood military base in 2009.

While Pope Leo did not directly mention the scheduled execution, or last month’s botched execution attempt involving Christa Pike, who survived two doses of the lethal injection in Tennessee, his post followed comments from his top deputy. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, told Vatican News that the plan to livestream Hasan’s execution was “unacceptable”.

It was Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, who initially amended official Catholic teaching in 2018 to declare capital punishment “inadmissible” under all circumstances. Previously, the Catechism of the Catholic Church stated the church did not exclude recourse to capital punishment if it was the only way to defend human lives against an unjust aggressor.

The upcoming livestream of Hasan’s execution has drawn sharp criticism across the US political spectrum. Republican representative Austin Scott stated he supported executing Hasan, but noted that “livestreaming executions is what Jihadists do. America is better than that.” Meanwhile, Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, remarked that while Hasan should face justice, public executions resemble practices seen in Iran and the Taliban.

On Thursday, a Pentagon official confirmed the plans, though on Friday, Vice President JD Vance expressed uncertainty regarding whether the livestream would ultimately proceed, telling reporters that if it does, he would not be watching it.