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Pentagon: Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan to be executed by firing squad, first since WWII
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The Pentagon has announced it will execute former US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad, marking the first military execution since 1961 and the first by firing squad since the end of World War Two. Hasan fatally shot 13 unarmed soldiers and injured 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on social media that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made the recommendation and President Donald Trump approved it. Hasan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder by a jury of 13 officers, who unanimously recommended the death sentence. Parnell stated that the Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution, writing 'Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.' Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist, admitted in court he was the gunman and apologized for 'any mistakes,' stating he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The attack on November 5, 2009, was the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base. Trump, who reinstated the federal death penalty via executive order in January 2025, has been a proponent of capital punishment, describing it as 'an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes.'
Source report
By Sareen Habeshian
The Pentagon has announced it will execute a former US Army major by firing squad, the first such military execution in more than 60 years.
Nidal Malik Hasan, a US Army major and physician, fatally shot 13 unarmed US soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, injuring another 32.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on social media on Monday that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had made the recommendation and President Donald Trump approved it.
It will be the first military execution by firing squad since the end of World War Two.
Conviction and Sentencing
Hasan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder by a jury panel of 13 officers, which unanimously recommended his death sentence.
Parnell said the Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution.
"Judgement day for Hasan has finally come," he wrote on X.
Background
Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist from Virginia, killed 13 soldiers at the base in Texas in 2009 and later admitted in court he was the gunman and apologised for "any mistakes".
He said during his court-martial in 2013 that he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The killings on 5 November 2009 were the deadliest ever non-combat attack on an American military base. The attack took place in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers were awaiting check-ups and vaccines.
Hasan is currently one of four inmates on the US military's death row.
Legal Process
A military execution requires approval from the US president, according to military law. It also requires appellate review and a final judgment on its legality to move forward.
The US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces deemed the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983, but it was reinstated the following year by an executive order under then-President Ronald Reagan.
Military vs. State Executions
Military executions differ from those carried out at the state level. The majority of executions in the US are carried out on the state level, with 27 states, the military and the federal government still having capital punishment as a legally available option.
Death by firing squad is rather uncommon. There was an execution by firing squad carried out last year in South Carolina, a first for the state and the first time the method was used in the US in 15 years. Four other states allow the use of a firing squad, including Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah.
Political Context
Trump has been a proponent of the federal death penalty and re-instated it through an executive order on the first day of his administration in January 2025.
Under his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, the justice department had issued a moratorium on the federal use of the death penalty.
The executive order signed by Trump describes capital punishment as "an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens".
Related Topics
- United States Army
- Donald Trump
- Capital punishment
Source
BBC NewsWestern