The Pentagon announced that the military execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be broadcast via livestream on December 3, 2026. Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a 2009 mass shooting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the public broadcast as a necessary deterrent. The event marks the first U.S. military firing squad execution since 1945, drawing sharp criticism from legal experts who compare the public spectacle to practices in authoritarian regimes.
Details of Nidal Malik Hasan's scheduled execution
- ▪The military execution of Nidal Malik Hasan is scheduled to take place at Fort Hood on December 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.
- ▪On October 8, 2026, the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan's military execution will be public and broadcast via livestream so people are able to watch it
Hasan's legal proceedings
- ▪During his 2013 trial, Nidal Malik Hasan represented himself, called no defense witnesses, and made no closing argument
- ▪Nidal Malik Hasan could significantly delay his execution by filing a habeas petition in civilian court to review the legality of his military detention
The 2009 Fort Hood shooting and conviction
- ▪During the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, Nidal Malik Hasan shouted "Allahu akbar" and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun to prevent soldiers from deploying to Afghanistan
- ▪Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist holding the rank of major, killed 13 people and injured 32 others in a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009
- ▪Nidal Malik Hasan was convicted by a military jury on 45 counts of murder in 2013 and was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by law enforcement
History of United States military executions
- ▪The last U.S. military execution of any kind took place on April 13, 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was executed by hanging
- ▪Nidal Malik Hasan's scheduled execution will mark the first U.S. military execution by firing squad since the January 31, 1945, execution of Army Private Eddie Slovik
State firing squads
- ▪During an April 2025 execution in South Carolina, Mikal Mahdi suffered a prolonged death after firing squad bullets missed his heart
- ▪At least five U.S. states allow firing squads as an execution method, with South Carolina carrying out three such executions in 2025
Presidential actions on federal capital punishment
- ▪President Donald Trump signed an executive order restoring capital punishment on the first day of his second term in office
- ▪Prior to leaving office, President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row
Global prevalence of public executions
- ▪Public executions are currently carried out in only a small number of countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia
- ▪Amnesty International reported that at least 17 public executions occurred globally in 2025, including 11 in Iran and 6 in Afghanistan
Debatable claims
- ▪Execution by firing squad is more humane than lethal injection
- ▪The Defense Department should not livestream Nidal Hasan’s execution
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