Trump administration plans to revive public executions, echoing a dark chapter in American history

From the Newshound archive · first published 9 October 2026.

Hasan's December execution by firing squad will mark the first time the US military has carried out a death sentence in over 65 years. The announcement has led historians to look back at America's lengthy and disturbing tradition of public hangings, which once attracted crowds of thousands drawn by the spectacle.

The final public execution in the US took place in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, before a crowd of thousands.

Historian Michael L. Radelet of the University of Colorado Boulder says public executions were once seen as both a deterrent and a community ceremony, with parents bringing children to watch.