Editing Capital punishment (section)

===Public execution===
{{main|Public execution}}
A public execution is a form of capital punishment which "members of the general public may voluntarily attend". This definition excludes the presence of a small number of witnesses randomly selected to assure executive accountability.<ref name=blum>{{cite journal |last=Blum |first=Steven A. |date=Winter 1992 |title=Public Executions: Understand the 'Cruel and Unusual Punishments' Clause |url=http://www.hastingsconlawquarterly.org/archives/V19/I2/Blum.pdf |journal=Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly |volume=19 |issue=2 |page=415 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326225628/http://www.hastingsconlawquarterly.org/archives/V19/I2/Blum.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2014}}</ref> While today the great majority of the world considers public executions to be distasteful and most countries have outlawed the practice, throughout much of history executions were performed publicly as a means for the state to demonstrate "its power before those who fell under its jurisdiction be they criminals, enemies, or political opponents". Additionally, it afforded the public a chance to witness "what was considered a great spectacle".<ref>{{cite book |last=Cawthorne |first=Nigel |date=2006 |title=Public Executions: From Ancient Rome to the Present Day |url=https://archive.org/details/publicexecutions0000cawt/page/6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/publicexecutions0000cawt/page/6 6–7] |publisher=Chartwell Books |isbn=978-0-7858-2119-9 }}</ref>

Social historians note that beginning in the 20th century in the U.S. and western Europe, death in general became increasingly shielded from public view, occurring more and more behind the closed doors of the hospital.<ref name=chambliss>{{cite book|author=William J. Chambliss|title=Corrections|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NMF1AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|pages=4–5|isbn=9781452266435}}</ref> Executions were likewise moved behind the walls of the penitentiary.<ref name=chambliss/> The last formal public executions occurred in 1868 in Britain, in 1936 in the U.S. and in 1939 in France.<ref name=chambliss/>

According to Amnesty International, in 2012, "public executions were known to have been carried out in Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Somalia".<ref>{{cite news |date=12 April 2013 |title=Death penalty statistics, country by country |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/death-penalty-countries-world |newspaper=The Guardian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231222052/http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/death-penalty-countries-world |archive-date=31 December 2015}}</ref> There have been reports of public executions carried out by state and non-state actors in [[Hamas]]-controlled [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen.<ref>{{cite news |date=22 August 2014 |title=Haunting Images Emerge of Hamas Public Execution of 18 Alleged Collaborators |url=http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/08/22/haunting-images-emerge-of-hamas-public-execution-of-18-alleged-collaborators-photos/ |newspaper=The Algemeiner |access-date=14 September 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915072828/http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/08/22/haunting-images-emerge-of-hamas-public-execution-of-18-alleged-collaborators-photos/ |archive-date=15 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/isis-extremist-reportedly-kills-his-mother-in-public-execution-in-syria/ |title=ISIS extremist reportedly kills his mother in public execution in Syria |work=Fox News |date=8 January 2016 |access-date=30 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531212145/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/01/08/isis-extremist-executes-his-mother-in-syria-for-urging-him-to-flee-group.html |archive-date=31 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/08/world/asia/afghanistan-public-execution/ |title=Video: Taliban shoot woman 9 times in public execution as men cheer |work=CNN|date=9 July 2012 |access-date=30 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602090138/http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/08/world/asia/afghanistan-public-execution/ |archive-date=2 June 2016}}</ref> Executions which can be classified as public were also carried out in the U.S. states of Florida and Utah {{as of|1992|lc=yes}}.<ref name=blum/>