President Trump has approved the execution by Army firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major who shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, the Pentagon announced late Monday, October 5, and the Army must now pick a date. Hasan was an Army psychiatrist who opened fire on soldiers getting ready to go overseas. A military jury sentenced him to death in 2013, and he has been on military death row ever since.
Story Highlights
- President Trump approved death by Army firing squad for Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the method. Officials have not given a reason for choosing it.
- Army rules call for the execution to be set no sooner than 60 days and no later than 150 days after the president’s approval.
- Hasan can still file in federal court, which could delay the execution.
Who Hasan Is and What the President Approved
On November 5, 2009, Hasan walked into a soldier readiness center at Fort Hood, the Army post in central Texas, and fired a handgun at troops preparing to deploy. Twelve soldiers and one retired soldier working there as a civilian were killed. More than 30 other people were wounded. Hasan admitted at his trial that he was the shooter and said he fired to protect Islamic insurgents.
In 2013 a court-martial, which is a military trial with a jury of officers, convicted him of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder and sentenced him to death. Hasan acted as his own lawyer at that trial. In the military, a death sentence cannot be carried out until the president signs off on it. That approval is the step President Trump has now taken.
Who Recommended the Firing Squad
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the president approved the recommendation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the civilian head of the military, that Hasan be executed by a U.S. Army firing squad. “The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution,” Parnell said. “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.” Hegseth posted one word about the decision: “Justice.”
Neither the Pentagon nor the White House has given a reason for choosing a firing squad. Hasan is held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the Army post that houses the military’s death row. A lawyer for Hasan was asked for comment, and no response has been reported.
What Comes Next
The Secretary of the Army, the civilian who runs the service, now sets the date. Army rules call for the execution to be scheduled no sooner than 60 days and no later than 150 days after the president’s approval. No date has been set.
Hasan still has one road left in the civilian courts. He can file a habeas corpus petition in federal court. That is a request asking a judge to rule on whether his conviction or his imprisonment is lawful. A filing like that could put the execution on hold, possibly for years, but it does not undo the president’s approval. The Supreme Court declined to take up Hasan’s case in 2025, which left his conviction and sentence standing.
The First Military Execution Since 1961
If it is carried out, this will be the first execution of an American service member in more than 60 years. The last one was Army Pvt. John Bennett, who was hanged at Fort Leavenworth on April 13, 1961. The Army last used a firing squad in 1945, when Pvt. Eddie Slovik was shot in France for desertion during World War II.
For the families of the 13 people killed and for the soldiers who were wounded, the approval comes almost 17 years after the shooting. The date is now in the Army’s hands.
Sources:
cnbc.com, aljazeera.com, reuters.com, hindustantimes.com, stripes.com
