Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan

UPDATE - follow-up to Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan: U.S. President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. The U.S. military has not carried out the death penalty since 1961. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X that the Army secretary will decide a time and place for the execution, adding that judgement day for Hasan has finally come. During the attack, Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, walked into a medical building where soldiers were getting checkups, shouted the Arabic phrase for God is great, and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun. Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 were injured. Hasan stated that it was an effort to stop soldiers from going to Afghanistan and killing his fellow Muslims, and he told jurors he was a soldier who had switched sides.

Next Steps

Mr. Trump's approval starts a series of steps toward the execution, but Hasan could delay them for years with a habeas corpus appeal in the civilian federal court system. Four men are currently on the military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The last man executed in the military system was Private John Bennett, who was hanged in 1961.

Context

Capital punishment is extremely rare in the U.S. military justice system, with no executions carried out in decades. Legal appeals and civilian court reviews often delay military death sentences for extended periods.