Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan's firing-squad execution will be livestreamed, Pentagon says

Key takeaways

• The US Army plans to execute Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009, by firing squad on 3 December at Fort Hood.
• A Pentagon official told Reuters and the BBC the execution will be livestreamed, after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said it would be "public".
• It would be the first US military execution in more than 60 years, the first military firing-squad execution since the Second World War, and no other country is known to livestream a legal execution.
• Critics, including Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, have condemned the plan; some legal experts say appeals could delay the execution for years.

What was announced

The Army said this week that Hasan would be executed at Fort Hood on 3 December after President Donald Trump approved the defence secretary's recommendation, a requirement under military law. Hegseth told the conservative outlet Real America's Voice that people would be able to watch: "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public."

On Thursday, Pentagon officials clarified that this means a livestream, saying more details would follow. Hegseth has said the choice of a Thursday at about 1pm at Fort Hood was meant to match the day, time and place of the 2009 attack.

The 2009 attack and the case

On 5 November 2009, Hasan, then an Army major, opened fire inside a medical building at Fort Hood where soldiers were preparing to deploy. Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 were wounded. He was shot by police during his arrest and is paralysed from the waist down.

A military jury convicted him in August 2013 and sentenced him to death. He represented himself at trial and called no witnesses. He is now 56.

What critics and experts say

• Senator Chris Murphy told CNN the livestream plan was "disgusting".
• Eugene Fidell, a military law expert at Yale Law School, called it a "really unfortunate decision" and said legal proceedings, if Hasan challenges the execution, could last years.
• Deborah Denno of Fordham University said a livestream would bring unusual transparency to how executions are carried out, but raised questions such as age limits and platform rules.
• Alonzo Lunsford, a former sergeant shot seven times in the attack, told the BBC he supports the firing squad and plans to attend, though he does not think everyone should watch.

According to Amnesty International figures cited by the BBC, only two countries carried out public executions last year: Iran (11) and Afghanistan (6).

Could it be delayed?

Yes. Experts say Hasan could file a habeas petition in a civilian federal court, which would likely pause the execution. A lawyer who has represented him in civil matters also complained that he was notified of the execution without a defence lawyer present; the Army says it made every reasonable effort to reach his counsel and followed policy.

What happens next

• The Pentagon has said it will release details of how the livestream will work.
• Watch for any court filing by Hasan or his lawyers before 3 December.
• The plan is likely to face legal and political challenges in the US, where previous media attempts to televise executions were blocked by courts.