A proposal to livestream an execution by firing squad in the United States has prompted a warning from the United Nations human rights office. On 9 October, the office said broadcasting the execution would amount to a public execution and breach the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

The warning highlights a fundamental principle: people sentenced to death retain their human rights and dignity. A criminal sentence does not give authorities permission to subject a person to public humiliation or turn their death into a spectacle.

Broadcasting an execution would extend its reach far beyond the prison walls. Rather than providing meaningful accountability, it risks making an irreversible act of state violence something to watch and share. Transparency in the justice system should mean independent scrutiny, access to legal remedies, and accountability—not the public display of a person’s final moments.

The UN human rights office also raised concerns about the right to life. These concerns require serious attention, particularly because an execution cannot be reversed if a conviction or sentence is later found to be unjust.

Authorities should abandon any plans to broadcast executions and protect prisoners from degrading treatment. The wider response must also address the death penalty itself, including through a moratorium on executions with a view to abolition. Justice should protect society while respecting human dignity; it must not depend on making suffering visible to an audience.

As Rights Defenders Initiative (RDI), we strongly condemn any attempt to turn an execution into a public spectacle. Livestreaming a person’s death is wrong, degrading, and contrary to fundamental human rights and humanitarian principles. We call on the relevant US authorities to abandon the proposal, uphold the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and protect the dignity of every person in custody. No criminal conviction removes a person’s humanity, and state punishment must never become entertainment.

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