31.   Public executions have been a popular form of entertainment throughout human history.

32.   Public executions may get a few people to oppose the death penalty.

33.   Royal personages used to watch from the palace as polo games, festivals and even public executions were staged in the square below.

34.   Since then, public executions have been considered to be uncivilized.

35.   Some Ivoirians, wearied by crime, have expressed support for public executions.

36.   Supposedly, people would be so turned off by the sight of a public execution that they would rise up and demand an end to the death penalty.

37.   The Chechens have dismissed the criticism as naive moralizing, saying public executions are needed to deter a growing crime wave and to uphold Islamic law.

38.   The last public execution was last month, he said.

39.   The men have witnessed public executions and have smuggled out to Pakistan clandestinely filmed videotapes as a testament to the brutality of their regime.

40.   The scene was meant to look convivially sporty but feels like the aftermath of a public execution.