Nidal Hasan’s Fort Hood execution set for Dec. 3 by firing squad
Expert weighs in on firing squad executions
President Trump approved the use of a firing squad for the execution of a former Army psychiatrist behind a deadly shooting at Fort Hood. Nidal Hasan killed 12 soldiers and 1 civilian in the 2009 shooting. An additional 32 people were injured. The military has not executed a service member since 1961. Geoffrey Corn, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and a military law expert at Texas Tech, joined Dallas News Live to explain what the decision means.
FORT HOOD, Texas - President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas.
The execution is scheduled for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, according to acting Army Secretary Adam Telle.
BELL COUNTY, TX - APRIL 9: In this photo released by the Bell County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who is charged with murder in the Fort Hood shootings, is seen in a booking photo after being moved to the Bell County
What we know:
Telle announced Tuesday that Hasan’s execution will take place Dec. 3 at Fort Hood.
The Pentagon announced Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended death by a U.S. Army firing squad for Hasan, and Trump approved it.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed the approval in a post on X, writing, "Judgment day for Hasan has finally come."
The U.S. military has not carried out an execution since 1961. If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first military execution in 65 years.
The backstory:
56-year-old Hasan received a death sentence for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood in 2013.
He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while serving as an Army major and psychiatrist.
Hasan, a U.S.-born citizen of Palestinian descent, opened fire Nov. 5, 2009, at a processing center at Fort Hood, where troops were preparing for deployment.
As troops tried to flee outside, Hasan followed them through a back door, where he confronted police.
UNDATED: In this undated handout photo from the website of the U.S. Government Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences downloaded on November 6, 2009, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army doctor named as a suspect in the shooting deat
He was shot by police and fell to the ground. Police found an additional gun, extra ammunition magazines and a cellphone.
Hasan said the attack was an effort to stop soldiers from deploying to Afghanistan.
"There was adequate provocation that these were deploying soldiers that were going to engage in an illegal war," Hasan told the military judge at his trial.
Military execution history
The backstory:
The U.S. military has not carried out the death penalty since 1961, when Pvt. John Bennett was hanged for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl in Austria.
Hasan would be the first person executed after a U.S. armed forces court-martial in 65 years, and it would mark the Army’s first execution of a soldier since World War II.
Four men, including Hasan, are currently on the military's death row at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
Trump approved the firing squad execution days after a failed attempt to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection pushed Tennessee's governor to halt further executions this year and order an independent review.
Christa Pike still on a ventilator 4 days after failed execution, lawyer says
A lawyer for Christa Pike says the death row inmate has not regained consciousness since the state's failed execution Wednesday night.
What they're saying:
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth responded to Parnell's X post:
The Source: Information in this article was provided by social media posts and FOX News.