Palmer Luckey says that executions should be 'public and brutal'

Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Anduril, has sparked controversy by advocating for public and brutal executions. The billionaire tech entrepreneur expressed his support for public executions in a recent post on X, stating that private executions are "awful and dystopian." Luckey's stance on executions was made public following the case of Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Hasan's execution would be livestreamed, a decision that Luckey disagreed with.

Luckey argued that executions should be "public and brutal," rather than private and medically sanitized. He contended that the spectacle of executions should be exposed to the public so that voters can have an appropriate reaction to these state killings. Luckey drew parallels between public executions and the discipline practiced by historical figures like George Washington, who also supported public hangings.

He emphasized that the shift towards private executions has made unnecessary executions more likely, and that the move is "awful and dystopian."

Despite his controversial stance, Luckey did show some sympathy for pacifists who want to end the death penalty altogether. He argued that if people are opposed to public executions, they should also be opposed to private executions. However, his views have been met with strong criticism on social media, with some users accusing him of being a "true psycho" and comparing Silicon Valley to a psych ward.

Others, such as Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, have agreed with Luckey and expressed their support for public executions.