REVENGE AND THE SPECTACULAR EXECUTION: THE TIMOTHY MCVEIGH CASE

• Date: 01 July 2004
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1059-4337(04)33006-1
• Pages: 201-221
• Published date: 01 July 2004
• Author: Jinee Lokaneeta

REVENGE AND THE SPECTACULAR

EXECUTION: THE TIMOTHY

MCVEIGH CASE

Jinee Lokaneeta

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that contemporary executions by lethal injection represent

spectacles of death. This spectacle of death upholds the sovereignty of the

liberal state by evoking a sense of fear among the citizens. The State uses the

apparently “painless” and “humane” form of execution by lethal injection

to legitimize the death penalty in the U.S. I take the example of McVeigh’s

execution to suggest that spectacles of execution continue in modern society,

along with disciplinary processes that the liberal state depends on for its

legitimacy. This paper, thus, aims to contribute towards a rethinking of a

Foucauldian notion of power.

The execution of Timothy McVeigh on June 11, 2001 represents a unique moment

in the history of executions in American society. Capital punishment has been a

source of much debate and discussion in the U.S. McVeigh’s execution marked a

perfect opportunity for Europe and the rest of the world to point a finger towards

the U.S. and to argue against the continuation of the “barbaric practice” of the

death penalty in the most advanced capitalist nation of the world. In fact United

States is the only western democracy still using capital punishment1(Zimring &

Hawkins, quoted in Gross, 1993, p. 85).

Studies in Law, Politics, and Society

Studies in Law, Politics, and Society,Volume 33, 201–221

Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier Ltd.

All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

ISSN: 1059-4337/doi:10.1016/S1059-4337(04)33006-1

201

202 JINEE LOKANEETA

This paper argues that, apart from its international significance, McVeigh’s

execution represents a spectacle of death. It will further argue that this particular

spectacle is “necessary” to the present moment of American politics. It is my

contention that this spectacle of death is required to uphold the sovereignty of

the liberal state in order to evoke a sense of fear among the citizens. In addition,

the State uses so-called apparently “painless” and “humane” form of execution

by lethal injection to legitimize the continuation of the death penalty in the

U.S. In this paper, I will use the example of McVeigh’s execution to suggest

that spectacles of execution continue in modern society, along with disciplinary

processes that the liberal state depends on for its legitimacy. This paper thus aims

to contribute towards a rethinking of a Foucauldian notion of power.

THE UNIQUENESS OF THE MCVEIGH EXECUTION

The Oklahoma bombing was one of the worst cases of domestic terrorism in recent

American history. A hundred and sixty-eight people were killed and 500 injured in

a bomb blast in the Alfred P.Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April

19, 1995. The state officials initially suspected Islamic and other international

terrorists for the bombing, until it was known that Timothy McVeigh a “home

grown” terrorist (along with Terry Nichols and possibly others) had attacked the

American government – the “great Satan” in McVeigh’s own words (Linedecker,

2001).2McVeigh was sentenced to death and, after a delay caused by a FBI mix

up in May 2001, he was finally executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001.

There were several reasons why McVeigh’s execution was a significant

one. Timothy McVeigh’s execution was the first federal execution in 38 years.

Executions had been discontinued in the U.S. by the end of the1960s. In the

mid-1960s, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund had exposed the

racially biased and arbitrary nature of executions and this led to a moratorium

on executions that culminated in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia case. However,

there was soon a backlash from political leaders, police and the citizens due to

increasing crime rates and several states began reintroducing the death penalty

in the 1970s. In the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia case, the Supreme Court held that

death penalty was constitutional (Gross, 1993, pp. 84–85). Further, it is not a

coincidence that Post Gregg in 1977, lethal injection became the adopted method

of imposing the death penalty in the United States. The apparently “humane”

nature of the method made the renewal of death penalty more palatable to the

American people. The act of renewal of executions is significant considering that

approximately 108 countries had stopped using the death penalty as a method of

punishment in the post World War II period (James, 2001).