Yes. It's getting back in touch with our less civilized side. Personally I think we should bring back public hangings or other executions. People wonder why the death penalty isn't a deterrent. Maybe it's because we've taken all of the horror out of it.
Of course, for the person in question it's a deterrent.
I once read somewhere that even public guillotine wasn’t a deterent. I sorta found that hard to believe.