Trump orders firing squad for Fort Hood killer, Pentagon says

United States President Donald Trump has ordered a firing squad for the execution of a former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, a Pentagon spokesman said. The order concerns the method of execution.

Hasan received a death sentence in August 2013 after a military jury convicted him of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. The case concerned a handgun attack inside a medical facility at the Texas military base.

The attack killed 12 unarmed active-duty soldiers and a retired serviceman. Another 32 people were wounded.

The Army secretary will determine the time and place of the execution, the spokesman said.

Military executions in the United States require presidential approval under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. They are extremely rare: if this order is carried out, it would be the first execution of a U.S. military member since 1961.

A Defense Department official said the execution of Nidal Hasan would be livestreamed. Hasan shot dead 13 unarmed U.S. soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009; the official's statement concerns public viewing of his execution.

The execution is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood in Texas. If carried out as scheduled, it would be the first military execution by firing squad since the end of World War II.

Military law requires approval from the U.S. president for a military execution. It also requires appellate review, in which a higher court examines the decision, and a final judgment on its legality before the execution can proceed.

John Mills, a lawyer who works with people sentenced to death, described the decision to livestream the execution as unprecedented in the modern era and said it rests on uncertain legal ground.

Mills said Hasan's appellate process is unfinished and that he is likely to seek federal court review of his conviction and sentence. Mills said that review would likely put the execution on hold.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy condemned the proposed livestream, calling it disgusting and comparing it with executions carried out by the Islamic State group.

Defense Department official says Nidal Hasan's execution will be livestreamed

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