Some additional info for non Americans: Trump's executive order didn't establish a federal death penalty because we've always had one. It was suspended in the 1970s and reinstated in 1988. Historically it's never been used very often. At the end of Trump's first term, he went on a killing spree and carried out a slew of executions. Biden's DOJ put a moratorium on it when he entered office. Trump's 2025 order is to start it back up. I think he may be the president with the most executions in our history.
A FEDERAL death penalty. That's- They'll use it on anyone they decide they want to. Horrifying. Any death penalty sickens me. And we have seen the way this administration uses police powers. I fear so much for my family back in the US (I live in NZ now), a lot of whom are BIPOC and/or queer. And they're all pretty outspoken about the genocide in Gaza too. It just feels like we're way too close to "you spoke bad about the president, you are going to die".
I’ve loved all of Flightless Bird, but this episode affected me more than any other thus far, to the extent that I still remember exactly what I was doing when I heard it (walking down the street near my home with a bag of Twisties) and the way that it made me feel (utterly, overwhelmingly sad). I’m glad these episodes are bookended by ones like Olive Garden, because they leave me feeling wrecked.
The death penalty is absurd. If you threatened me one day, then I waited a week to come and shoot you, it would be called murder rather than self-defence. The label for the death penalty seems just as tenuous. Keeping people on ice for months, years, decades after an offence (assuming they’re even guilty in the first place) before ending their lives in cold blood cannot be anything other than state-sanctioned murder.
I don’t have a religious position, I consider myself pretty utilitarian overall, and I still can’t see how it’s anything other than completely fucked.
Thanks Patrick. I want to do some deeper, heavier dives like this on FB when I can. Not always - it's not really the right show for it - but sometimes.
I'm fortunate enough to have never been impacted by violent crime, so I can't be alsure how I'd react, but it still saddens me how many people's conception of justice is simply causing more suffering. And how being seen as "tough on crime" is seen as the practical and reasonable alternative to mercy and empathy.
In addition to ending the moratorium on the federal death penalty, the cuts to USAID are already estimated to have killed 300,000 people. Fascism is a death cult.
I haven't been in the comments lately but I wanted to comment on the profound impact this piece had on me. I think about it often. I am very anti death penalty but I am also not "close" to it. I can't explain it but there is an intimacy and warmth to this that really rattled me. That this is a human and some human lives are less valuable than others. Absolutely stunning journalism. Thank you.
p.s I highly recommend the first episode of the first episode (I think) of God Save Texas. Richard Linklater is in his hometown which is a prison town. I found it horrifying and beautiful at the same time.
This is the work that I continue to subscribe to Webworm for. As a Canadian, neither my heart nor my mind can reconcile the death penalty - but I know a significant portion of Americans staunchly oppose it as well.
What a barbaric world we live in. We have learned so much and yet we still act like savages.
This is really sad. The whole pro life argument is moot here. Governor Parsons could have done something and chose not to - even with all of the media pressure. Heartbreaking.
It was heartbreaking to hear all the amazing people there actually are in America, Michelle, the Missouri journalist and Marcellus' son and the impact it must have had on them. They were all so wise and calm about a situation that is so nonsensical, unfathomable and cruel. A system that they have to fight that shouldn't be there is such a waste of their amazing human capital.
Devastating. This is such a powerful story to share. My heart breaks for this family and all the people trying to fight for due process and protection in a system intentionally devoid of logic, compassion or humanity.
Everyone deserves better than this shitshow and it's a tragedy how many will continue to suffer and lose livelihoods and lives because of the fundamental lack if leadership within so many positions of power across the United States (and world! Fuck the current "leadership" in Nz too).
Its so bloody hard to stay optimistic, but that's their whole strategy. We get overwhelmed and give up and become resigned and accepting.
Which is why you and these stories are so important David. To remind us why we must keep going and fighting, despite how daunting the task is.
This will haunt me for a while, but that's a good thing.
This was deeply moving, thank you. A question in good faith, inspired not just by the Zone of Interest neighbour but do you get the sense that in America life is cheap? I feel like there is a racist undertone when that question is asked in the global south but rarely in the West which is also of course inherently racist, it becomes a question of power.
I’m drawn to the idea that a country founded on violence and genocide has no problem repeating it but this doesn’t seem so baked into the identity of its citizens in somewhere like Australia where the same massacres were committed in the name of the emerging state.
So I come full circle and ask if it’s the notion of individual freedom they grasp onto that has come to justify the worst of collective actions.
As an American, I definitely feels like life is considered cheap here. Just this week, Joni Ernst a Republican senator from Iowa was confronted at a town hall about Medicaid cuts in the proposed Republican budget. When one of her constituents said people would die because they couldn't afford healthcare, Joni replied "Well, we're all going to die." Iowa is a solidly Republican state, and I would not be surprised if she cruised to re-election.
I think there's a real crisis of empathy in this country, where if it's not happening to you or someone you care about then it must not be a big deal. We're so big, and so populous, and so spread out that it's very easy to ignore these problems unless they're right in front of you.
It's funny (funny weird, not funny haha) how Americans seem so put off by the visual realities of death (thinking back to the infamous deer) and yet also so blasé about the preventable deaths of others. War, genocide, mass shootings, pandemics, the death penalty. These are all preventable, and yet the America that is portrayed to the rest of the world seems absolutely fine with that kind of death.
Totally - I think it is caught up in their strange moral compass here in the US. A combination of capitalism and Christian roots.
A dead human deserves it, usually. An animal never deserves it.
So - fury with animals.
And a total apathy to the death of an unhoused person, an prisoner awaiting execution, or someone in hospital dying (their health choices led them to it, so they deserve to die).
Hey uh unrelated but kind of on the subject of death, David, have you seen Bring Her Back?
Your reccy to go see Talk To Me was very solid, super enjoyed that movie. I see this is by the same directors, just wondering if you’d seen it yet and what you thought if so.
Some additional info for non Americans: Trump's executive order didn't establish a federal death penalty because we've always had one. It was suspended in the 1970s and reinstated in 1988. Historically it's never been used very often. At the end of Trump's first term, he went on a killing spree and carried out a slew of executions. Biden's DOJ put a moratorium on it when he entered office. Trump's 2025 order is to start it back up. I think he may be the president with the most executions in our history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_by_the_United_States_federal_government
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/21/g-s1-44120/trump-executive-order-executions-resumed-immigrants
Thank you for this clarity, A.
that is horrific
A FEDERAL death penalty. That's- They'll use it on anyone they decide they want to. Horrifying. Any death penalty sickens me. And we have seen the way this administration uses police powers. I fear so much for my family back in the US (I live in NZ now), a lot of whom are BIPOC and/or queer. And they're all pretty outspoken about the genocide in Gaza too. It just feels like we're way too close to "you spoke bad about the president, you are going to die".
I’ve loved all of Flightless Bird, but this episode affected me more than any other thus far, to the extent that I still remember exactly what I was doing when I heard it (walking down the street near my home with a bag of Twisties) and the way that it made me feel (utterly, overwhelmingly sad). I’m glad these episodes are bookended by ones like Olive Garden, because they leave me feeling wrecked.
The death penalty is absurd. If you threatened me one day, then I waited a week to come and shoot you, it would be called murder rather than self-defence. The label for the death penalty seems just as tenuous. Keeping people on ice for months, years, decades after an offence (assuming they’re even guilty in the first place) before ending their lives in cold blood cannot be anything other than state-sanctioned murder.
I don’t have a religious position, I consider myself pretty utilitarian overall, and I still can’t see how it’s anything other than completely fucked.
Thanks Patrick. I want to do some deeper, heavier dives like this on FB when I can. Not always - it's not really the right show for it - but sometimes.
Is there anything about Donald Trump that doesn’t fill you with horror?
Fair.
I'm fortunate enough to have never been impacted by violent crime, so I can't be alsure how I'd react, but it still saddens me how many people's conception of justice is simply causing more suffering. And how being seen as "tough on crime" is seen as the practical and reasonable alternative to mercy and empathy.
In addition to ending the moratorium on the federal death penalty, the cuts to USAID are already estimated to have killed 300,000 people. Fascism is a death cult.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/opinion/elon-musk-doge-usaid.html
I haven't been in the comments lately but I wanted to comment on the profound impact this piece had on me. I think about it often. I am very anti death penalty but I am also not "close" to it. I can't explain it but there is an intimacy and warmth to this that really rattled me. That this is a human and some human lives are less valuable than others. Absolutely stunning journalism. Thank you.
p.s I highly recommend the first episode of the first episode (I think) of God Save Texas. Richard Linklater is in his hometown which is a prison town. I found it horrifying and beautiful at the same time.
Thanks, Amy. I felt really proud of how it turned out, and figured some Webworm people may have missed it entirely. Appreciated.
This is the work that I continue to subscribe to Webworm for. As a Canadian, neither my heart nor my mind can reconcile the death penalty - but I know a significant portion of Americans staunchly oppose it as well.
What a barbaric world we live in. We have learned so much and yet we still act like savages.
This is really sad. The whole pro life argument is moot here. Governor Parsons could have done something and chose not to - even with all of the media pressure. Heartbreaking.
It was heartbreaking to hear all the amazing people there actually are in America, Michelle, the Missouri journalist and Marcellus' son and the impact it must have had on them. They were all so wise and calm about a situation that is so nonsensical, unfathomable and cruel. A system that they have to fight that shouldn't be there is such a waste of their amazing human capital.
That is what struck me, too. The calm. They, somehow, held it together. Marcellus Jr especially.
Devastating. This is such a powerful story to share. My heart breaks for this family and all the people trying to fight for due process and protection in a system intentionally devoid of logic, compassion or humanity.
Everyone deserves better than this shitshow and it's a tragedy how many will continue to suffer and lose livelihoods and lives because of the fundamental lack if leadership within so many positions of power across the United States (and world! Fuck the current "leadership" in Nz too).
Its so bloody hard to stay optimistic, but that's their whole strategy. We get overwhelmed and give up and become resigned and accepting.
Which is why you and these stories are so important David. To remind us why we must keep going and fighting, despite how daunting the task is.
This will haunt me for a while, but that's a good thing.
Kia kaha
This was deeply moving, thank you. A question in good faith, inspired not just by the Zone of Interest neighbour but do you get the sense that in America life is cheap? I feel like there is a racist undertone when that question is asked in the global south but rarely in the West which is also of course inherently racist, it becomes a question of power.
I’m drawn to the idea that a country founded on violence and genocide has no problem repeating it but this doesn’t seem so baked into the identity of its citizens in somewhere like Australia where the same massacres were committed in the name of the emerging state.
So I come full circle and ask if it’s the notion of individual freedom they grasp onto that has come to justify the worst of collective actions.
As an American, I definitely feels like life is considered cheap here. Just this week, Joni Ernst a Republican senator from Iowa was confronted at a town hall about Medicaid cuts in the proposed Republican budget. When one of her constituents said people would die because they couldn't afford healthcare, Joni replied "Well, we're all going to die." Iowa is a solidly Republican state, and I would not be surprised if she cruised to re-election.
I think there's a real crisis of empathy in this country, where if it's not happening to you or someone you care about then it must not be a big deal. We're so big, and so populous, and so spread out that it's very easy to ignore these problems unless they're right in front of you.
It's funny (funny weird, not funny haha) how Americans seem so put off by the visual realities of death (thinking back to the infamous deer) and yet also so blasé about the preventable deaths of others. War, genocide, mass shootings, pandemics, the death penalty. These are all preventable, and yet the America that is portrayed to the rest of the world seems absolutely fine with that kind of death.
Totally - I think it is caught up in their strange moral compass here in the US. A combination of capitalism and Christian roots.
A dead human deserves it, usually. An animal never deserves it.
So - fury with animals.
And a total apathy to the death of an unhoused person, an prisoner awaiting execution, or someone in hospital dying (their health choices led them to it, so they deserve to die).
Speaking very broadly of course.
"...at this point I'm just following my dad's wishes and just trying to push for peace."
Marcellus Williams Jnr
A 'different culture' is not such a foreign concept.
Ngā mihi, David. 😪
Considering the circumstances especially - some pretty amazing words.
Hey uh unrelated but kind of on the subject of death, David, have you seen Bring Her Back?
Your reccy to go see Talk To Me was very solid, super enjoyed that movie. I see this is by the same directors, just wondering if you’d seen it yet and what you thought if so.
They have stepped up their game. It's brutal, more emotional and just an overall KICK of a horror.
10/10.