The phrase "gallows humor" comes to mind: In this segment from Wednesday night's Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert cracks jokes and the audience laughs, but it's not really very funny. The topic is capital punishment, specifically the great lengths states are going through to find non-cruel-and-unusual drugs for lethal injections (with questionable success) — and, at least in the case of Tennessee, legally hiding all information about the executions from a public that, broadly speaking, supports the death penalty but isn't comfortable putting actual humans to death. If you are leery of capital punishment, Colbert is a sneakily persuasive advocate for at least suspending the practice. --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Former Philadelphia police officer charged with murder for Eddie Irizarry shootingSpeed Read
-
How Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio's 22-year sentence compares to other Jan. 6 punishments
Speed Read
-
Kansas police raid small-town local newspaper, setting off a press freedoms clash
Speed Read
-
Ohio voters defeat GOP measure to raise referendum threshold
Speed Read
-
Ohio is voting on whether to raise the bar on referendums — and a popular abortion amendment
Speed Read
-
Oregon lifts ban on drivers pumping their own gas
Speed Read
-
Former Manson follower Leslie Van Houten out of prison after 50 years
Speed Read
-
Florida construction and agricultural workforces diminished after new immigration law takes effect
Speed Read
