The surprising psychology of morbid curiosity - video 13 October 2026 at 11:18

The surprising psychology of morbid curiosity - video

By: Presented by Ian Sample · with Madeleine Finlay · produced by Madeleine Finlay and Jacob Liebenberg · graphics by Elliot Ellis · the executive producer was Ellie Bury

13 October 2026 at 11:18

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan has incurred condemnation from human rights groups and politicians on all sides. But according to Coltan Scrivner, an author and psychologist at Arizona State University and expert on morbid curiosity, people are still likely to watch in large numbers. He explains why we are drawn to dark and disturbing content, and Madeleine Finlay tells Ian Sample how consuming this kind of material can harm observers’ mental health

Archbishop of US military condemns Pentagon plans to livestream execution 12 October 2026 at 16:33

Archbishop of US military condemns Pentagon plans to livestream execution

The Guardian

By: Guardian staff and agency

12 October 2026 at 16:33

Timothy Broglio says Catholics on army firing squad should ask to be excused since it clashes with church teachings

The archbishop who oversees the spiritual care of Catholics serving in the US military condemned the Pentagon’s proposed plans to livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan later this year.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio also stipulated in a Monday statement that any Catholic soldier assigned to the US army firing squad should ask to be excused from that duty, which he described as contrary to the teachings of the church. He joins other Catholic leaders in speaking out against the death penalty and the live stream plans.

Capital punishment is surging in the US – but after Christa Pike’s botched execution, what is its future? 11 October 2026 at 01:00

Capital punishment is surging in the US – but after Christa Pike’s botched execution, what is its future?

The Guardian

By: Ed Pilkington

11 October 2026 at 01:00

Trump has used the full might of the presidency to supercharge executions, but an avalanche of mishaps has put the system’s flaws in the spotlight

It took more than an hour to establish the two intravenous lines through which Christa Pike would be injected with a giant and normally lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital, and in that time she did everything she could to assist those who were attempting to kill her.

“Please try here,” she said over and over again to Tennessee’s execution team, pointing to specific parts of her body where she thought they might find a vein as they repeatedly stabbed her with needles. “Please try here, I think it will be OK. Please try up on my shoulder, higher.”

Christa Pike out of hospital and back in prison after botched execution attempt 10 October 2026 at 13:10

Christa Pike out of hospital and back in prison after botched execution attempt

The Guardian

By: Alba Asenjo Domínguez

10 October 2026 at 13:10

Pike’s lawyers said she is back in same prison she’s lived in for last 30 years and will continue to receive medical care

Christa Pike has been discharged from the hospital after surviving Tennessee’s botched 30 September attempt to execute her by lethal injection and is back in prison, her lawyers said on Saturday.

Pike, 50, returned to the Deborah K Johnson rehabilitation center, where she has been imprisoned for the last three decades, her attorneys, Stephen Ferrell, Luke Ihnen, Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason, said in a statement.

Florida execution called off after DeSantis withdraws death warrant for first time 9 October 2026 at 13:32

Florida execution called off after DeSantis withdraws death warrant for first time

The Guardian

By: Adam Gabbatt and agencies

9 October 2026 at 13:32

Governor halts execution of William Lee Thompson, after Christa Pike survived failed lethal injections

Ron DeSantis cancelled a planned execution in the state on Friday, days before a 74-year-old man was due to be killed by lethal injection.

The move – the first time Florida’s governor has withdrawn a death warrant in his nearly eight years in office – comes just over a week after the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee.

‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation 9 October 2026 at 12:32

‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation

The Guardian

By: David Smith in Washington and Ariana Baio in New York

9 October 2026 at 12:32

Pentagon said execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be broadcast live

US politics live – latest updates

The US is facing worldwide condemnation over a “barbaric” plan to execute a disabled man by firing squad and livestream it to the public, with critics comparing the Trump administration to dictatorships in Iran and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, would be livestreamed on 3 December.

Execution TV? Pete Hegseth has taken the once ‘greatest democracy’ to a horrific new low | Paul Daley 8 October 2026 at 21:19

Execution TV? Pete Hegseth has taken the once ‘greatest democracy’ to a horrific new low | Paul Daley

The Guardian

By: Paul Daley

8 October 2026 at 21:19

A proposal to livestream the killing of Nidal Hasan by firing squad opens a window ever wider to the Trump administration’s complete moral vacuity

More fool me! Here I was thinking nothing that America’s Trump administration could do or say, no matter how politically and morally bankrupt, no matter how venal or violent, was capable of shocking me any longer.

Then I woke to today’s news that one of the Trump cabinet’s bigger boofheads – the uber Christian nationalist, crusader-fantasist and “secretary of war” Pete Hegseth had announced that America would have a public firing squad execution of murderer Nidal Hasan.

Paul Daley is a Guardian Australia columnist

Christa Pike is ‘up and walking’ for first time after failed execution, lawyer says 8 October 2026 at 08:32

Christa Pike is ‘up and walking’ for first time after failed execution, lawyer says

The Guardian

By: Adam Gabbatt

8 October 2026 at 08:32

Recovery marks a dramatic turnaround for Pike, who remains in hospital after a botched execution in Tennessee

Christa Pike is “up and walking” in hospital, her lawyer said, just more than a week after she survived two lethal injections during a botched execution in Tennessee.

The recovery marks a dramatic turnaround after Pike was declared brain dead on Monday, before waking up and beginning to speak on Tuesday. Her ordeal has shocked many in the US and overseas and galvanized critics of the death penalty.

Christa Pike ‘angry, confused’ and unable to move arms after failed execution, lawyers say 7 October 2026 at 17:34

Christa Pike ‘angry, confused’ and unable to move arms after failed execution, lawyers say

The Guardian

By: Adam Gabbatt and Maya Yang

7 October 2026 at 17:34

Attorneys say Pike was set to be taken off life support before she woke up, as judge orders officials to preserve evidence

Christa Pike awoke “angry and confused” after surviving two lethal injections, her attorneys said on Wednesday, as a judge ordered Tennessee state officials to preserve all evidence related to the failed execution.

Pike, 50, was taken to hospital unconscious but alive from Tennessee’s execution chamber last Wednesday after two supposedly lethal doses of the barbiturate pentobarbital.

Christa Pike awake and speaking after botched execution: what happens now? - The Latest 7 October 2026 at 13:20

Christa Pike awake and speaking after botched execution: what happens now? - The Latest

The Guardian

By: Presented by Michael Safi with Ed Pilkington · producer Angus Neale · senior producer Ryan Ramgobin · executive producer Zoe Hitch

7 October 2026 at 13:20

Christa Pike, a death row inmate who survived the state of Tennessee’s attempt to execute her last week, is conscious and speaking. The 50-year-old is recovering in hospital after surviving two lethal injections in a case that has shocked many in the US and prompted a debate about the death penalty. She was due to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Michael Safi speaks to the chief reporter for Guardian US, Ed Pilkington – watch on YouTube

Christa Pike is conscious and speaking after botched execution attempt, lawyers say 6 October 2026 at 19:35

Christa Pike is conscious and speaking after botched execution attempt, lawyers say

The Guardian

By: Maya Yang and agencies

6 October 2026 at 19:35

The prisoner received two doses of pentobarbital as authorities tried to put her to death on 30 September

Christa Pike, a Tennessee prisoner who survived the state’s attempt to execute her, is awake and speaking as she receives treatment at a hospital, her attorneys said on Tuesday.

Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital, a sedative, as Tennessee officials attempted to put her to death last Wednesday in a case that shocked many in America and created headlines around the world. She was set to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.