> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 10/14/26 - Monthly Essay: "By Firing Squad" - URL: https://disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/10-14-26-monthly-essay-by-firing-squad/ - Published: 2026-10-14T18:30:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-14T18:29:59.000Z - Author: Andrew Pulrang ![Fall leaves illustration divider](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/09/Autumn-Trim.png) ![Monthly Essay](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/04/Copy-of-Friday.png) ## **Firing Squad** Andrew Pulrang, Disability Thinking Weekday - October 14, 2026 (TW: death penalty, suicide) Are they really going to livestream the execution of a man in a wheelchair by firing squad? How are other wheelchair users, and other disabled people, supposed to process that? I’m not a fan of disability writers and activists trying to raise the profile of what they believe is a neglected disability issue by rhetorically but very pointedly asking why nobody else is talking about it. As in, “Why aren't any disability organizations talking about this?!" (Another example: Disabled actor [RJ Mitte died on Monday](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/breaking-bad-actor-disability-rights-activist-rj-mitte-dead-34-2026-10-12/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io), apparently by suicide. But because I only read about it yesterday, and it takes time for me to write about things like this for the newsletter, I’m only mentioning it here briefly, partly because I can imagine at least *somebody* thinking, ‘Why are you writing about the firing squad thing when there’s RJ Mitte’s death to talk about?!’). Criticisms like this are sometimes even valid. Some disability issues *are* ignored – because of internal disability community prejudices, policy differences, or maybe just fear or apathy. But prioritizing a hundred different disability issues and crises at any given moment is legitimately hard. And sometimes it turns out that actually, lots of people *are* already talking about the issue. We just happen to have missed it. Also, the “Why isn’t anyone talking about this?!” thing often seems more like whining from weakness rather than advocacy from strength and serious concern. And yet … I *am* a little surprised not to have seen much comment from disability communities, organizations, and activists about the U.S. federal government’s apparent plan to [execute convicted murderer Nidal Hasan by firing squad](https://www.npr.org/2026/10/09/nx-s1-5996529/firing-squad-livestream-execution-fort-hood-shooter?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io), a man who uses a wheelchair, and live stream it live so anyone can watch. The most meaningful thing I have seen about it so far from a disability perspective is, of all things, this *Saturday Night Live* sketch. In it, executing a man in a wheelchair live on TV is specifically mentioned by Colin Jost, as Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, in a comedy bit that relies on the inherent outrageousness of the choice, *and* on the fact that the wheelchair part *obviously* makes it worse. “In December, as we get into the Christmas spirit, we’re gonna execute a guy in a wheelchair on live TV!” This isn’t about Hasan’s crime. Nor is it about how the man came to need a wheelchair, which was a direct result *o*f his crime. It’s not about the death penalty either, or whether a firing squad is an acceptable method of carrying it out. It's not even about how Islamaphobia and Hegseth's macho, right-wing posturing are involved. I have opinions about all of those things. I imagine a lot of people do too, including a lot of disabled people and disability activists. They are all important issues. They are probably the *most* important issues in this case. But the wheelchair part is *also* an issue. isn't it? It may not make it *technically* worse that Hasan is in a wheelchair. But there’s no way to imagine the execution being carried out where the man’s disability *doesn’t* make the whole thing feel *more* barbaric – or at the very least, doubly surreal. At any rate, I have some questions: - How exactly should disabled people and disability organizations address this? How much should we focus on the wheelchair specifically, and how much on the broader questions about the whole thing? - Might there be staunch death penalty proponents — *fans* might also be a fair term — who will nevertheless draw the line at watching a man in a wheelchair be ritually shot by the U.S. government? Or, are there significant numbers of Americans who will actually kind of be *into it*? - How will the whole idea affect wheelchair users who have no connection at all to anything remotely related to Nidal Hasan or his crime, except for also being wheelchair users? - What kinds of ripple effects would this have on other wheelchair users and other disabled people? Will we be treated to a new bunch of ableist jokes and insensitive comments? - Will any disability organizations speak out about this? If so, how? And how will their comments be processed in public debate and sentiment? What do you think? What do you feel? Send your comments to me at: [apulrang@icloud.com](mailto:apulrang@icloud.com). ![Fall leaves illustration divider](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/09/Autumn-Trim.png) ![Take Action](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2025/05/Action-1.png) [![Take Action to Support the Bipartisan House Resolution Reaffirming the Right of Disabled People to Live in Their Communities with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/10/Copy-of-Action-Alert-Panel.png)](https://dredf.org/take-action-res-1586/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) [![Tell Congress to Stop the Dismantling of the Department of Education and Protect Students with Disabilities - American Association of People with Disabilities](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/06/Action-Alert-Panel-1.png)](https://aapd.quorum.us/campaign/148277/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/06/Action-Alert-Panel-5.png)](https://aapd.quorum.us/campaign/160329/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) ![Fall leaves illustration divider](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/09/Autumn-Trim.png) ![Share, Comment & Subscribe](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2025/09/Like--Comment--Support.png) [*Disability Thinking Weekday*](https://disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/) is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. 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