FILE – This undated photo provided by the Bell County Sheriff’s Department shows former Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan. Uncredited/Bell County Sheriff’s Department/via AP hide caption toggle caption i Uncredited/Bell County Sheriff’s Department/via AP WASHINGTON — The firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed, the Pentagon said Thursday, a stunning revelation about plans for the first military execution in more than 65 years after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described it as “public.” The Army announced this week that the execution would take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3 after Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a shooting at the military base in 2009. Hegseth, speaking to conservative television outlet Real America’s Voice on Wednesday, said, “We’re going to make sure that people can see it, that it’s public.” Pentagon officials clarified Thursday that the execution would be broadcast live and that more details would be released. Hegseth’s revelation about the public nature of the execution (let alone an execution as violent as a firing squad) has raised more questions about how the death penalty is applied in the United States, especially after the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee. Experts offer mixed reactions to the plan that Hasan could choose to resist execution and file a habeas petition (a legal request to review the legality of a detention) in civil court, which could significantly delay the execution, experts said. “Frankly, it could outlast the current administration, and who knows if the next one will have the same penchant for executions,” said Eugene R. Fidell, a visiting professor at Yale Law School who specializes in military law. Deborah Denno, a death penalty expert and law professor at Fordham University, said livestreaming an execution could make the process “much more transparent” and inform the public about what capital punishment entails. Those are benefits she says would be helpful at a time when Pike’s botched execution has raised new questions about the way criminal defendants are executed for their crimes. “I think it could be a good idea because it would be transparent and the public would be fully aware of what is happening,” he said. While many states have struggled to administer lethal injections due to difficulties accessing medications or finding medical professionals willing to participate in executions, firing squads are beginning to be seen as a less inhumane alternative, said Brenner Fissell, a Villanova law professor and vice president of the National Institute of Military Justice. “Firing squads can be a faster, cleaner and more accurate way to execute a prisoner,” he said. “I don’t think that’s what’s motivating this. There’s a perception of masculinity and militarism in firing squads that is part of the aura Hegseth is trying to emphasize: the ‘culture of lethality.'” Elisabeth Semel, co-director of the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley Law, said Hegseth’s announcement raises a number of legal and public policy questions, including concerns about the dignity of the defendant who will be eligible to see the execution and what the Trump administration has in mind by opting for an unusual spectacle. Although there has been a long discussion about the idea of televising an execution, “I don’t remember a situation where it was instigated by the government. I think that also raises serious questions about what the government’s motivation is,” he said. “This is a president who seeks spectacle and I think that is precisely the message he is trying to convey,” Semel said, adding that she was skeptical that the administration had thought twice about the legal and social issues the decision raised. Trump, who approved Hasan’s execution, has previously criticized public executions in Iran, and at times used the possibility that the Iranian government killed protesters as a possible justification for military action that preceded his final decision to attack Iran on February 28. “We’ve been told the killings in Iran are stopping,” Trump told reporters on Jan. 14. “They are stopping, and there is no plan for executions.” In his State of the Union address just days before launching war against Iran, Trump reiterated: “We stopped many of them from being hanged by the threat of serious violence.” On Thursday, the White House referred questions to the Pentagon about plans for the live-streamed execution. Hegseth was asked Wednesday if Hasan had made any final requests or communicated with the Trump administration. The Pentagon chief responded: “I don’t care. We’ll see on December 3.” It is unclear whether Hasan will attempt to appeal. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who held the rank of major, entered a medical building on Nov. 5, 2009, where soldiers waited in long lines to receive vaccinations and medical clearance for deployment. He shouted “Allahu akbar,” which in Arabic means “God is great!” – and opened fire with a pistol with a laser sight. He also shot into the backs of the soldiers who were fleeing towards the parking lot. Hasan said it was an effort to stop them from going to Afghanistan and killing their fellow Muslims. A military judge prohibited him from presenting that as a defense during his 2013 trial. Hasan was paralyzed from the waist down after law enforcement shot him in the back and now uses a wheelchair. Hasan could request a long delay in his execution, although given his behavior at trial he may not want to do so. After firing his attorneys and representing himself, Hasan began his portion of the trial by telling jurors that he was the gunman. He didn’t say much else for the next three weeks, convincing his court-appointed standby lawyers that Hasan’s only goal was to get the death penalty. The military called nearly 90 witnesses, but Hasan concluded his case without calling a single person to testify in his defense and did not present any closing arguments. However, during the trial he leaked documents to journalists revealing that he had told military mental health workers that he could “still be a martyr” if he were executed. Attorney John Galligan, a former military judge who represented Hasan in several civil matters after his criminal trial, spoke with Hasan on Wednesday but could not offer many details about that conversation. He is not representing Hasan in his criminal case, but said he is concerned about his physical health under the plan drawn up by officials and that Hasan has not yet had access to legal advice. Galligan said that, according to Hasan, the facility commander brought in a chaplain but no attorney from either the Judicial Defense Service or his civil defense when he was notified that Trump had approved his execution. Galligan called this a violation of Army regulations. An Army spokeswoman said Thursday that multiple attempts were made to contact Defense Trial Service attorneys, saying they made all reasonable efforts and complied with policy. “Civil counsel was not reasonably available to be physically present for the notification on the 5th,” the spokeswoman said, adding that the lawyer was located in Virginia but did not provide a name. The spokeswoman also said Hasan has not been prevented from contacting and communicating with his lawyer. Hegseth said the Army has not executed a service member by firing squad since World War II. The last military execution took place on April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was executed by hanging. Amnesty International said in its report on executions in 2025 that it was aware of at least 17 public executions: 11 in Iran and 6 in Afghanistan.
