By Rev. Cliff Stewart

I am deeply troubled by the Secretary of Defense’s proposal to execute Nidal Hasan by firing squad and make his death available for public viewing.

Let me be clear. Hasan committed monstrous crimes. Thirteen people were murdered at Fort Hood. Their families deserve our remembrance, our compassion, and justice.

But justice and vengeance are not the same thing.

There is something profoundly disturbing about inviting the American public to watch another human being die. An execution should never become a show. Death should never become entertainment.

Christians worship our Savior who was himself publicly executed while a crowd watched. That ought to make us especially cautious about gathering crowds around the machinery of death.

The moral character of a nation is revealed not only by how it treats the innocent, but also by how it treats the guilty.

We can condemn Hasan’s crimes without celebrating his death. We can administer justice without making a spectacle of punishment. We can be strong without becoming cruel.

America does not become stronger by teaching its citizens to watch a man die.

Justice is necessary. Spectacle is not.

Rev. Cliff Stewart is pastor of First Central Presbyterian Church