Trump admin. approves death by firing squad for Fort Hood shooter

The Trump medication has approved a program to execute erstwhile Army Maj. Nidal Hasan — who killed 13 radical successful a 2009 shooting astatine Fort Hood — by firing squad, main Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said precocious Monday.

Parnell said connected societal media the program to usage an Army firing squad was recommended by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and approved by President Trump.

"The Secretary of the Army volition acceptable the clip and spot of the execution. Judgement time for Hasan has yet come," Parnell wrote.

CBS News has reached retired to Hasan's lawyer for comment.

A erstwhile Army psychiatrist, Hasan was convicted of murdering 13 radical and injuring much than 30 successful a 2013 court-martial. Hasan acknowledged astatine trial that helium was liable for the shooting, claiming helium opened occurrence connected chap members of the Army successful an effort to support Islamic insurgents from U.S. subject forces. He was sentenced to death.

Hasan's lawsuit could people the military's archetypal execution of an American work subordinate since 1961, erstwhile a worker was hanged for raping and attempting to execution an 11-year-old girl.

It would besides people a uncommon usage of a firing squad. The method was utilized successful South Carolina 3 times past year, marking the first firing squad executions since 2010. 

The national authorities typically uses lethal injection for civilian decease punishment cases. Earlier this year, the Justice Department said national officials should consider different methods, including firing squads, electrocution and lethal gas.

The determination by Hegseth comes aft a lengthy appeals process for Hasan. He chose to correspond himself astatine trial, and successful an antithetic people of events, helium clashed with his ain court-appointed standby attorneys, who disquieted that Hasan was intentionally seeking the decease penalty. 

Hasan asked the Supreme Court to reappraisal his lawsuit successful 2024, arguing the justice violated his close to a nationalist proceedings by clearing the nationalist from the courtroom earlier discussing immoderate of his issues with the attorneys. The precocious tribunal declined to instrumentality up the contented past year.