Pentagon Plans Public Livestream of Fort Hood Shooter’s Execution
Wertynews.com – The U.S. military is preparing to publicly livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major condemned to death for the 2009 Fort Hood attack that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others. The execution is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. at Fort Hood, where Hasan carried out the shooting.
Hasan is expected to be executed by an Army firing squad after the Trump administration approved the plan earlier this week. The case could become the first military execution of an American service member since 1961 and would place an unusual spotlight on the military justice system because the public is expected to be able to watch remotely.
A Rarely Public Form of Punishment
Executions in the United States have at times been attended by limited groups, often including relatives of victims, selected journalists, attorneys and officials. Opening an execution to the wider public through a livestream would be highly unusual in modern American history.
The most recent public execution in the United States is generally believed to have occurred in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged in Kentucky after being convicted of rape. The event drew an estimated crowd of about 20,000 people.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military intends for Hasan’s execution to be visible to the public, arguing that the punishment should underscore the consequences of such crimes.
“He’s gonna get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be. We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public — because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
The planned public broadcast has raised questions about the line between transparency and spectacle. Geoffrey Corn, a Texas Tech University law professor who previously served in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, said the proposal presents moral concerns separate from the wider debate over capital punishment.
“There’s a certain protocol that is normally followed with executions limiting the gallery of observers, which usually includes people close to the victims and certain members of the media. I think it’s an acknowledgment of the gravity of the penalty to be imposed.”
Corn said a public presentation of an execution could revive practices that the country has largely left behind.
“In short, turning the execution of such a penalty into some type of public spectacle echoes of the past we seem to have put behind us.”
Conviction and Death Sentence
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted in a 2013 court-martial for the killings and injuries at Fort Hood. During his trial, he acknowledged responsibility for the shooting. He said he had attacked fellow Army personnel in an effort to protect Islamic insurgents from U.S. military forces.
The Fort Hood attack became one of the deadliest acts of violence ever committed at a U.S. military installation. The victims included service members and civilians who were at the base when Hasan opened fire in November 2009.
A military jury sentenced Hasan to death. His case then moved through an extended appeals process, as capital cases commonly do. Hasan represented himself during the court-martial, though standby attorneys had been assigned to assist if necessary. Those attorneys became concerned that he might be pursuing a strategy intended to bring about a death sentence.
In 2024, Hasan asked the Supreme Court to consider his claim that his right to a public trial had been violated. He argued that the judge had excluded the public from the courtroom before discussing certain matters involving his standby lawyers. The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal last year.
Firing Squad Would Be an Uncommon Method
The planned method of execution would also be exceptional. Hegseth noted that the military has not used a firing squad since World War II, referring to the 1945 execution of Pvt. Eddie Slovik. Slovik was executed for desertion during the war.
Military executions of American service members have been rare for decades. The last occurred in 1961, when a soldier was hanged after being convicted of raping and attempting to murder an 11-year-old girl. If Hasan’s execution proceeds, it would end a gap of more than six decades without such an execution by the armed forces.
Firing squads have also been used only rarely in civilian state cases. South Carolina used the method three times last year, the first use of firing squads in the country since 2010. In federal civilian death penalty cases, lethal injection has generally been the standard method. The Justice Department said earlier this year that officials should weigh alternatives, including electrocution and firing squads.
The Pentagon’s decision therefore carries significance beyond Hasan’s individual case. It combines a military capital punishment case, a firing squad and a plan for broad public access—three elements that rarely appear together in contemporary American law and government.
Questions Ahead of Dec. 3
The planned livestream is likely to draw renewed attention to the treatment of victims’ families, the role of public observation and the purpose of executions within the justice system. Supporters of public access may view it as an expression of accountability after a devastating attack on a military community. Critics may question whether broadcasting the event respects the seriousness of the punishment and the people affected by the killings.
Hasan’s attorney has been asked for comment. As the scheduled date approaches, the military’s arrangements for witnesses, public viewing and the execution itself will remain central to a case that has already occupied the military justice system for more than a decade.
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