"This demand that the criminal apologize in the course of the song—and hence legitimize the execution—reminds me of Foucault’s observation, in Discipline and Punish, that Western societies originally focused on punishing the criminal’s body, but eventually became more obsessed with the offender’s mind.”

#TedGioia #ExecutionBallads #MichelFoucault #DisciplineAndPunish #Music #Broadsides
https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/why-were-execution-ballads-so-popular