The Pentagon has said the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, will be livestreamed on December 3.
The announcement came a day after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be public, raising questions about the government’s decision to broadcast the first military execution in more than 65 years.
The Army announced this week that Hasan’s execution would take place at Fort Hood, Texas, where he carried out the shooting that killed 13 people and injured 32 others.
Speaking to conservative television outlet Real America’s Voice on Wednesday, Hegseth said the public would be able to watch the execution. Pentagon officials clarified on Thursday that it would be livestreamed, with further details to follow.
The decision has renewed debate about the use of the death penalty in the United States, particularly following the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee.
Legal And Ethical Questions-Hasan could challenge his execution in civilian court by filing a habeas petition, a legal request for a review of the lawfulness of his detention. Such a move could delay the execution significantly, legal experts said.
Eugene R. Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School who specialises in military law, said the legal process could extend beyond the current administration.
“It frankly might outlast the current administration, and who knows if the next one will have the same penchant for executions.”
Deborah Denno, a death penalty expert and law professor at Fordham University, said livestreaming could make executions more transparent by allowing the public to see what capital punishment involves.
“I think it could possibly be a good idea because it would be transparent and the public would be fully aware that it’s happening.”
Brenner Fissell, a Villanova Law professor and vice president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said firing squads were increasingly being considered as an alternative to lethal injection, partly because of difficulties obtaining execution drugs and finding medical professionals willing to participate.
“Firing squads can be a quicker, cleaner, more precise way to execute a prisoner.”
Fissell questioned whether the choice was driven by concerns about the execution process, arguing that the firing squad also carries military symbolism.
“There’s a perceived masculinity and military-ness to firing squads that is part of the aura Hegseth is trying to emphasise the ‘lethality culture.”
Elisabeth Semel, co-director of the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley Law, said the plan raises questions about the defendant’s dignity, who would be allowed to watch and the government’s reasons for turning an execution into a public spectacle.
“I don’t recall a situation in which it was instigated by the government. I think that also raises serious questions about what is the motivation of the government,” Semel said.
She added that President Donald Trump’s administration appeared to be using spectacle to send a message.
“This is a president who’s about spectacle and that’s, I think, precisely the message that he intends to deliver,” she said.
Trump Approved Execution-Trump approved Hasan’s execution, according to the report. His decision has also drawn attention to his previous criticism of public executions in Iran.
Before the United States launched military action against Iran on February 28, Trump cited concerns about the possible execution of protesters as one of the issues surrounding his response to the country.
“We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping,” Trump told reporters on January 14. “It’s stopping, and there’s no plan for executions.”
In his State of the Union address days before the military action, Trump said the United States had used the threat of serious violence to stop Iran from hanging protesters.
The White House referred questions about the livestreamed execution to the Pentagon on Thursday.
Asked on Wednesday whether Hasan had made any final requests or contacted the administration, Hegseth replied: “Don’t care. We’ll see him on Dec. 3.”
Hasan’s 2009 Attack-Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who held the rank of major, opened fire on November 5, 2009, at a medical building on Fort Hood where soldiers were waiting for immunisations and medical clearance before deployment.
He shouted “Allahu akbar”, meaning “God is great” in Arabic, before firing a laser-sighted handgun. He also shot at soldiers fleeing towards a parking lot.
Hasan said he acted to stop the soldiers from going to Afghanistan and killing fellow Muslims. A military judge barred him from presenting that argument as a defence during his 2013 trial.
He was left paralysed from the waist down after law enforcement officers shot him and now uses a wheelchair.
Hasan dismissed his lawyers and represented himself at trial. He began his defence by telling jurors he was the gunman, then said little else over the following three weeks.
His court-appointed standby lawyers believed his conduct showed that he wanted to receive a death sentence. The military called nearly 90 witnesses, while Hasan called none and made no closing argument.
During the trial, Hasan also leaked documents to journalists showing that he had told military mental health workers he could “still be a martyr” if executed.
Dispute Over Access To Legal Counsel-John Galligan, a former military judge who represented Hasan in several civil matters after the trial, spoke with him on Wednesday but said he could not disclose details of their conversation.
Galligan said he was concerned about Hasan’s physical health under the execution plan and that Hasan had not yet had access to legal counsel.
According to Galligan, Hasan told him that a facility commandant brought a chaplain but no lawyer from the Army’s Trial Defense Service or his civilian defence team when he was informed that Trump had approved the execution.
Galligan described the absence of a lawyer as a breach of Army regulations.
An Army spokeswoman said Thursday that officials had made several attempts to contact Trial Defense Service attorneys and had followed the required procedures.
“The civilian counsel was not reasonably available to be physically present for the notification on the 5th,” the spokeswoman said. She added that the lawyer was based in Virginia but did not identify the person.
The spokeswoman also said Hasan had not been prevented from contacting or communicating with his lawyers.
Hegseth said the military had not executed a service member by firing squad since World War II. The last military execution took place on April 13, 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged.
Amnesty International reported that it documented at least 17 public executions in 2025, including 11 in Iran and six in Afghanistan.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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