The United States has announced plans to execute former Army Major Nidal Hasan by firing squad on December 3, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the process will be livestreamed to demonstrate the consequences of serious crimes.
Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding others during a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009.
Hegseth said the execution would be carried out by a firing squad comprising soldiers, describing the method as appropriate for the crime.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth said on Thursday, adding that the public needed to understand that such crimes carried serious consequences.
Speaking in an interview with conservative television outlet Real America’s Voice, he said Hasan would face a firing squad of soldiers.
The execution is scheduled to take place at Fort Hood on December 3, according to the US Army secretary. If carried out, it would be the first US military execution since 1961 and the first by firing squad since 1945.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth had recommended the execution and President Donald Trump had approved it.
Under US military law, an execution requires presidential approval, appellate review and a final determination that it can legally proceed.
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist from Virginia, opened fire inside a crowded medical building at Fort Hood, where soldiers preparing for deployment were undergoing medical examinations and vaccinations.
The attack remains the deadliest non-combat shooting at an American military installation.
During his court-martial in 2013, Hasan admitted responsibility for the shooting and apologised for what he described as “any mistakes”. He told the court that he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The planned execution is expected to renew attention to the 2009 attack, which shocked the US military and raised concerns about security at military installations.
The last US military execution took place in 1961, when an Army private was hanged after being convicted of raping an 11-year-old Austrian girl. The execution had been authorised by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The last military execution by firing squad occurred in January 1945, when Army Private Eddie Slovik was shot after being convicted of desertion during the Second World War.
Hasan’s scheduled execution would therefore mark a significant development in the history of US military justice, provided all legal requirements are satisfied and the execution proceeds as announced.