Hegseth says Nidal Hasan’s Dec. 3 execution will be public. It would be the military’s first since 1961.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the public will be able to watch the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Hasan is set to face a firing squad on Dec. 3.
Hegseth said in an interview with commentator Jack Posobiec that soldiers will carry out the execution and that it will take place at Fort Hood at 1 p.m. He said he wants it to be public so people understand there are serious consequences for such crimes.
The Trump administration approved the plan earlier this week. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth recommended death by Army firing squad and President Donald Trump approved it. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle said the execution is scheduled for Dec. 3, Fox News reported.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted at a 2013 court-martial of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others, and was sentenced to death. He acknowledged at trial that he was responsible for the shooting. He remains on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Supreme Court declined last year to review his case, in which he argued the judge had violated his right to a public trial.
If carried out, it would be the first execution of a U.S. service member by the military since 1961, when a soldier was hanged. The method is also rare. South Carolina carried out three firing squad executions last year, the first in the country since 2010, CBS News reported.
Retired Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot several times in the attack, including once in the head, told Fox News he plans to attend. He said it could bring closure to survivors and the families of those killed. It was not immediately clear how the public would be able to watch. CBS News said it had asked Hasan’s attorney for comment.
This report is based on information from CBS News, ABC News and Fox News.