Execution of former major who killed 13 soldiers in the US will be broadcast live

It has been announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 American soldiers and wounded 32 others at the Fort Hood military base in the US in 2009, will be broadcast live. This was reported by Reuters.

Nidal Hasan is a former US Army major and psychiatrist who committed the grave crime at the Fort Hood military base in Texas. According to a Pentagon spokesman, the execution will take place on December 3 right on the territory of the military base. Hasan will become the first inmate to be executed by firing squad by the US military since 1945.

The proposal to execute the 56-year-old Hasan by firing squad was put forward by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. U.S. President Donald Trump also supported this initiative. Hasan was found guilty of premeditated murder of 13 people and attempted murder of 32 others.

The tragic incident occurred on November 5, 2009. At that time, service members were waiting in line for medical check-ups and vaccinations. The shooting took place in a medical building on the military base and claimed many lives.

Hasan explained his actions as a desire to prevent further loss of life in Afghanistan. However, this attack, which claimed 13 lives and left 32 people wounded, is recorded as the deadliest non-combat attack on a US military base.

How the death penalty is applied to the military in the US

In the US, there is a specific legal procedure for applying the death penalty for military crimes. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled the imposition of the death penalty in court-martials unconstitutional in 1983. However, a year later, the death penalty was reinstated by order of then-President Ronald Reagan.

Execution sentences for military crimes differ in legal procedure from executions carried out within civilian courts. In the US, the death penalty is primarily executed at the state level. Currently, this type of punishment remains legal in 27 states of the country.

The case of Nidal Hasan is one of the instances that has brought the issue of applying the death penalty for military crimes back to the agenda in the US.