China covers execution in live, two-hour TV special

China’s state TV this week televised live images of four foreign drug traffickers readied for execution (by lethal injection) for killing 13 Chinese fisherman. The two-hour broadcast included a grisly color commentary with television personalities remarking on about how healthy the prisoners looked: "…you can clearly tell our prison has carried out humanitarian spirit. These criminals clearly look healthier… with better skin complexion than when they were arrested."  This isn’t the first attempt to make executions entertainment: A regional talk show in Henan called "Interviews Before Execution" provided a forum for death-row prisoners before it was canceled last year. China executes 4,000 criminals a year, more than all other countries in the world combined. [Source]

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