President Donald J. Trump and Pentagon leadership have approved the execution of former Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan by U.S. Army firing squad for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, marking the first military execution in over 60 years and the first by firing squad since World War II.
The Pentagon announced the upcoming execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army officer who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, on 5 November 2009.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell detailed that Hasan committed the attack while shouting the Arabic phrase for God is great during the assault.
Army Psychiatrist Faces Firing Squad for Fort Hood Massacre
The attack on 5 November 2009 stands as the deadliest non-combat shooting ever carried out on an American military base. Hasan, who was born in northern Virginia and served as a U.S. Army psychiatrist, walked into a crowded readiness processing center where deploying soldiers were waiting for routine check-ups and vaccines.
Armed with a semi-automatic handgun, Hasan shouted Allahu Akbar
while opening fire, killing 13 people—including a pregnant soldier—and injuring 32 others. Former Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler, a two-time combat veteran, recounted being shot four times and spending nearly a year moving through various hospitals for recovery.
Military Jury Convicts Hasan and Defense Row Imprisonment
A military jury convicted Hasan in August 2013 and recommended a death sentence. He was subsequently transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he remains incarcerated on death row as one of only four inmates on the U.S. military’s death row.
Historical Precedents for Military Executions
Carrying out a military execution by firing squad represents a rare and historically uncommon action for the armed forces.
The last execution carried out by the U.S. military occurred in 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at the gallows at Fort Leavenworth after being convicted of raping and attempting to kill a young girl.
Capital punishment within the military experienced a legal hiatus after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983. While 27 states, the federal government, and the military maintain capital punishment as a legal option, death by firing squad remains uncommon, having been utilized last year in South Carolina—its first use in the state and nationwide in 15 years—alongside authorization in Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah. Simkins, who serves as Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News and is a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
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