Christopher Hitchens, with whom I once shared a small office, and I had our bitter differences, mainly over the Iraq War. But I fondly remember a conversation with him when he passionately argued that executions should be televised live. His point was that if Americans could experience the barbarity of capital punishment, they would oppose this cruel and inhumane practice. I believe that he also thought that people should be fully cognizant of what the state was doing in their name and with their permission and tax dollars.