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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Nicola Davis Science correspondent

Execution live stream could cause PTSD in viewers, say psychiatrists

A woman watches a blurred, colourful film on a laptop screen resting on her lap
One expert said people with pre-existing mental health conditions were particularly at risk of distress. Photograph: golibo/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Livestreaming an execution could cause post-traumatic stress disorder in the viewing public, mental health experts have said, after the US confirmed plans to broadcast the death by firing squad of a man who shot dead 13 unarmed soldiers.

The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said on Thursday that Nidal Hasan, a former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be executed by firing squad on 3 December. Officials later confirmed it would be livestreamed. It is believed it will be the first public execution in the US in almost a century.

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