Transcript
Letters
May 12, 2001
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Last week we asked you to respond to public radio's broadcast of the execution tapes. Listeners responded from every side of the issue including those who said they had heard enough already; we should change the subject. Agreed. But first, some of your thoughts.
BOB GARFIELD:Elena Girst [sp?] from New York City says that she supports capital punishment as a logical means to rid society of those who are convicted of crimes so heinous as to invite the death penalty. However, she writes, I feel that broadcasting them brings us one step closer to the barbarism of periods of history from which we attempt to set ourselves apart as a more informed, civilized society.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:It is no surprise that public radio would broadcast the execution, wrote Robert Huber [sp?] of New Brighton, Minnesota. Ratings are important even with no advertisers, and there's probably an agenda behind it. We will end with this observation from Frederick Armstrong Fox of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. I heard the re-broadcast of the excerpt and my opinion remains unchanged, he wrote. I found no entertainment value in the recording. Such an event is a matter of the gravest solemnity. Only a very sick pup would derive any pleasure from it. I hasten to add that a distinction exists between closure and ghoulish delight. We want to hear your opinion on any subject we tackle here on On the Media, so write us at onthemedia@wnyc.org.