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() (10.00)  (10.00)  ()  (Support Showbiz411.com)  (Support Showbiz411.com)  (111201) (1) (0) (USD)     (https://www.showbiz411.com/) (Back to Homepage) Back to Homepage                    (https://showbiz411.com)    (Logo) ()   Showbiz411.com         (https://showbiz411.com/) Home   (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/celebrity) Celebrity   (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/movie) Movies   (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/music) Music   (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/tv) Television   (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/theater) Theater   (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/review) Reviews      () ()  (Search) Search       (phil-donahues-prediction-of-live-executions-comes-true-with-hegseth-talk-show-host-tried-to-make-it-happen-in-1994-but-was-rejected.html#)                   (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/law)  Law (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/tv)  Television   Phil Donahue’s Prediction of Live Executions Comes True with Hegseth: Talk Show Host Tried to Make It Happen in 1994 But Was Rejected      October 8, 2026 5:43 pm   By (https://www.showbiz411.com/author/roger-friedman) Roger Friedman          () (phil-donahue)        Share  (https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.showbiz411.com%2F2026%2F10%2F08%2Fphil-donahues-prediction-of-live-executions-comes-true-with-hegseth-talk-show-host-tried-to-make-it-happen-in-1994-but-was-rejected) (Facebook)   Facebook  (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Phil+Donahue%E2%80%99s+Prediction+of+Live+Executions+Comes+True+with+Hegseth%3A+Talk+Show+Host+Tried+to+Make+It+Happen+in+1994+But+Was+Rejected&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.showbiz411.com%2F2026%2F10%2F08%2Fphil-donahues-prediction-of-live-executions-comes-true-with-hegseth-talk-show-host-tried-to-make-it-happen-in-1994-but-was-rejected&via=Showbiz411) (Twitter)   Twitter  (https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.showbiz411.com/2026/10/08/phil-donahues-prediction-of-live-executions-comes-true-with-hegseth-talk-show-host-tried-to-make-it-happen-in-1994-but-was-rejected&media=https://www.showbiz411.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/phil-donahue.jpg&description=Phil+Donahue%E2%80%99s+Prediction+of+Live+Executions+Comes+True+with+Hegseth%3A+Talk+Show+Host+Tried+to+Make+It+Happen+in+1994+But+Was+Rejected) (Pinterest)   Pinterest  (https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=Phil+Donahue%E2%80%99s+Prediction+of+Live+Executions+Comes+True+with+Hegseth%3A+Talk+Show+Host+Tried+to+Make+It+Happen+in+1994+But+Was+Rejected %0A%0A https://www.showbiz411.com/2026/10/08/phil-donahues-prediction-of-live-executions-comes-true-with-hegseth-talk-show-host-tried-to-make-it-happen-in-1994-but-was-rejected) (WhatsApp)   WhatsApp    (phil-donahues-prediction-of-live-executions-comes-true-with-hegseth-talk-show-host-tried-to-make-it-happen-in-1994-but-was-rejected.html#) (More)             (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=showbiz411.com) ★ Make Showbiz411 your Preferred Source on Google   Phil Donahue, the late talk show host, predicted we would one day have live executions on TV. In 1994, he petitioned the Supreme Court to videotape Lawson’s execution for television, arguing that the public needed to see capital punishment to decide if it was right or wrong.   The death row inmate, David Lawson, convicted of a 1980 murder, joined him in the petition, the SCOTUS turned them down..   Donahue wasn’t asking for the access to advocate for capital punishment. Rather, he wanted  people to see how barbaric it was. (https://nypost.com/1999/11/25/donahue-wants-to-show-a-live-killing/) He told Larry King on King’s show: “I am on record as being against capital punishment,. I am making this argument not as an ideologue, but as a person who believes that this free-press establishment has a responsibility to show this issue, which has split families.” (http://www.showbiz411.com) CLICK HERE FOR ALL SHOWBIZ411 HEADLINES      But Phil knew it would happen. He advocated for the live execution of Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh in 2001. And now Pete Hegseth, a grotesque character, is going to let it happen. He’s all for promoting violence. Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood. A firing squad, that’s right. The most atrocious thing that could be shown on TV or streaming. It will be interesting to see if YouTube or any other platform will have the good grace to stop it. Even Google should not allow a live execution, and block the White House website. Zoom should disallow it, too.   Hegseth, a dangerous clown who will be pilloried by historians, told a website: “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it. That it’s public. Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” All of this will be of more impact since the failed execution of Christa Pike, in Tennessee, by lethal injection. (https://www.showbiz411.com/2026/08/14/carly-simons-new-album-doesnt-just-come-in-waves-it-hits-full-force-with-a-phenomenal-collection-of-new-songs-her-first-in-18-years) Carly Simon’s New Album Doesn’t Just “Come in Waves,” It Hits Full Force with a Phenomenal Collection of New Songs — Her First in 18 Years  (“Carly Simon’s New Album Doesn’t Just “Come in Waves,” It Hits Full Force with a Phenomenal Collection of New Songs — Her First in 18 Years” — Showbiz411)      Donate to Showbiz411.com Showbiz411 is now in its 13th year of providing breaking and exclusive entertainment news. This is an independent site, unlike the many Hollywood trades that are owned by one company. To continue providing news that takes a fresh look at what's going on in movies, music, theater, etc, advertising is our basis. Reader donations would be greatly appreciated, too. They are just another facet of keeping fact based journalism alive.Thank you (_donations)  (rogerfriedman@att.net)  (USD)  (https://www.showbiz411.com/wp-admin/admin-post.php?action=add_wpedon_button_ipn) (en_US) (WPPlugin_SP) (https://www.showbiz411.com/thankyou)  (https://www.showbiz411.com)  (Make your payments with PayPal. It is free, secure, effective.) () (10.00)  (10.00)  ()  (Support Showbiz411.com)  (Support Showbiz411.com)  (111201) (1) (0) (USD)         (https://www.showbiz411.com/author/roger-friedman) (Roger Friedman) (Roger Friedman)   (https://www.showbiz411.com/author/roger-friedman) Roger Friedman Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. (https://www.facebook.com/showbiz411/) (Facebook)   (https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-friedman-973a2327) (Linkedin)   (https://twitter.com/showbiz411) (Twitter)   (https://muckrack.com/showbiz411) (Website)   (https://www.youtube.com/showbiz411) (Youtube)           Read more   (https://www.showbiz411.com/category/media) Media (https://www.showbiz411.com/2026/10/08/omen-fox-news-ratings-down-17-in-3rd-quarter-also-down-17-from-same-time-last-year-as-viewers-search-for-real-news) (Omen? 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