The Pentagon said the US president approved a recommendation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Army will set the time and place.
US President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, the Pentagon said on October 5. Spokesperson Sean Parnell said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had recommended the method and Trump had approved it. The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place.
Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 for the November 2009 attack at Fort Hood, Texas. The shooting left 13 people dead and dozens wounded. The Straits Times reported that 12 of those killed were soldiers and that 30 of the wounded were also service members. ABC News reported 32 people wounded.
If carried out, it would be the first execution conducted by the US military since 1961. ABC News reported that Army rules require an execution to take place no sooner than 60 days and no later than 150 days after presidential approval.
Hasan represented himself at trial, called no witnesses and gave no testimony. The court heard that he opposed US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and had communicated online with Anwar al-Awlaki, described by the source as an alleged Al-Qaeda figure. Al-Awlaki, a US citizen, was later killed in a US drone strike in Yemen.
A civilian police officer who responded to the attack shot Hasan. He was wounded and left partially paralysed. The Straits Times said the Army leadership would determine when and where the sentence is carried out.