Dacia Maraini Criticizes US Livestream Execution, Cites Beccaria in Corriere della Sera Essay
In an article published in Corriere della Sera on 9 October 2026, titled "La vendetta non è giustizia," Italian author Dacia Maraini expresses her disapproval of the United States’ choice to broadcast the execution of former Major Nidal Malik Hasan, set for 3 December 2026. This execution, sanctioned by President Trump, is a consequence of Hasan's involvement in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre. Maraini references a 2007 UN proposal advocating for a moratorium on the death penalty, which the US declined to ratify, and points out that 23 out of 50 states in the US still uphold capital punishment. She argues that public executions necessitate military participation, infringing upon state authority, and invokes Cesare Beccaria to question the ethics of self-identified Christian societies.
Key facts
- President Trump authorized and welcomed the livestreamed execution of former Major Nidal Malik Hasan
- Hasan was responsible for the 2009 massacre at Fort Hood military base in Texas
- The execution is scheduled for 3 December 2026
- The UN proposed a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty in 2007, which many states including the US did not ratify
- 23 of 50 US states still retain the death penalty
- Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794) wrote "Dei delitti e delle pene" in 1764
- Dacia Maraini was born on 13 November 1936 in Fiesole near Florence
- Maraini will receive the Austrian Book Trade's Honorary Prize for Tolerance in Thought and Action on 22 November 2026 at the European Literature Days in Krems/Stein
- The Italian original "La vendetta non è giustizia" appeared in Corriere della Sera on 9 October 2026
- Fort Smith II, built in 1838, served as barracks, federal court, prison and execution site in Arkansas, where 86 men were hanged between 1873 and 1896
Entities
Artists
- Dacia Maraini
- Cesare Beccaria
- Nidal Malik Hasan
- Donald Trump
- Wilhelm Alff
- Mike Goad
Institutions
- Corriere della Sera
- kultur-port.de
- United Nations
- US Army
- Fort Hood
- Insel-Verlag
- Nuovi Argomenti
- Österreichischer Buchhandel
- Europäische Literaturtage
- Fort Smith National Historic Site
Locations
- Fiesole
- Florence
- Italy
- United States
- Texas
- Fort Hood
- Arkansas
- Fort Smith
- Krems
- Stein
- Austria
- Frankfurt am Main
- Germany