An entertainment firm fights to Webcast McVeigh’s execution

Should the execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh be Webcast for the world to see? That is the question before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, which is holding an emergency hearing on the matter April 17, two days before the bombing’s anniversary. “The execution of Mr. McVeigh is a matter of great public importance and significance,” reads the request submitted by lawyers for the Entertainment Network. ” The public has a constitutional right to be present at the execution, and the only method of delivering that right to the citizens is via audiovisual transmission.” One of the co-founders of Entertainment Network, David Marshlack, maintains the Web’s superiority for this type of transmission. Unlike a television broadcast, he says, a Webcast could be restricted to adults. He plans to do that by working with Internet filtering companies so they could block out the execution, and by charging a small fee, $1.95, to help ensure that those who would log on are credit-card-carrying adults. All nice ideas, but not likely to guarantee that kids can’t access the feed. Marshlack is also quick to point out that his company would make no profit from the venture, that all proceeds would go to charities for victims of the bombing.