US President Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the former US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. This will be the first US military execution in over six decades and the first by firing squad since World War II. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the news on social media, stating that judgement day for Hasan had finally come.
Hasan's execution is scheduled to take place at Fort Hood on December 3. However, he could delay the proceedings by filing a habeas corpus appeal in the federal courts. According to Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, the president's approval is another step closer to Hasan's execution, but it does not mean that his execution will be imminent.
The military's last firing squad execution was in 1945, when Private Eddie Slovik was shot for desertion in France. The US military last carried out an execution of any sort in 1961, when Private John Bennett was hanged for the 1955 rape and attempted murder of an Austrian girl. The military officially suspended the death penalty after a 1983 court ruling but reinstated it the following year.
The method of execution was changed to lethal injection, but new Army regulations in 2023 made the choice of execution method a matter for the president's discretion. In this case, President Trump has approved the use of a firing squad. According to Eugene Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale Law School, the president's approval was not surprising given his administration's stance on the death penalty.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had recommended the death penalty for Hasan, stating that he was 100 percent committed to ensuring it was carried out. Hasan's attack at Fort Hood in 2009 left 13 people dead and 32 injured. He shouted "Allahu akbar" before opening fire and was shot by civilian security officers, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Hasan acted as his own lawyer during his 2013 trial, admitting that he was the shooter. He claimed to have "switched sides" and turned against the US due to its military actions in the Middle East. The military jury found Hasan guilty on all counts, and he was dismissed from the Army and sentenced to death.
The death penalty is already under scrutiny, with some experts suggesting that the timing of the Pentagon's announcement may be connected to recent botched lethal injections, including the case of Christa Pike in Tennessee. According to Corinna Lain, states are re-examining their execution methods, and the use of a firing squad in Hasan's case may be a reflection of this trend.
Key points
- The US military's first firing squad execution since World War II has been approved by President Trump.
- Nidal Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in 2009.
- The execution method was changed to a firing squad under new Army regulations in 2023.
