The Pentagon will allow the public to see the execution of former Army commander Nidal Hasan, sentenced to death for killing 13 people in the 2009 attack on the Fort Hood base, Texas.
This was announced this Thursday by the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Pete Hegseth, this being the first military execution in more than 65 years. “We will make sure that people can see it, that it is public,” the secretary confirmed.
As Hegseth highlighted, the objective of the execution is to make society understand that these types of acts have “serious consequences.” In this case, it will be a platoon made up of soldiers armed with rifles who will carry out the execution.
An execution at the same place as the murders
In the absence of more details, the execution will take place at one in the afternoon at the same place where the attacks took place. The Secretary of Defense assured that it was “obvious” that it took place at that same base, where Hasan carried out the attack on November 5, 2009.
The Pentagon has not yet specified how the public will be able to watch the shooting, so it is unknown if there will be spectators at the base or, on the contrary, it will be a live broadcast.
Hasan’s execution, approved by Trump on Hegseth’s recommendation, will be the first US military execution since 1961 and the first by firing squad since 1945.
The case of Nidal Hasan
The United States was shocked in 2009 after Nidal Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist, killed 13 soldiers at the Texas base and wounded 32 others.
But it wasn’t just any attack. It was the deadliest attack on a US military base outside of a war context. The events took place in a medical building at the base, where hundreds of soldiers were waiting for their medical examination before being deployed on a mission. It was at that moment that Hasan decided to open fire on the soldiers, causing chaos.
Years later, he admitted in court to being the shooter, stating that he believed he was “protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.” Following his statement, Hasan entered death row and is currently one of four inmates in this situation.
An execution amidst controversy
The event occurs in the midst of an intense debate in the US about the death penalty, following the failed execution by lethal injection of a woman in Tennessee last week.
The media have tried on several occasions to televise executions in the US, but the courts have prevented it. Furthermore, there is no record of any other country televising or live-streaming a legal execution, as experts have noted.
In this sense, public executions have become extremely rare around the world, with only countries such as Iran and Afghanistan among those that maintain it.
Trump, supporter of the death penalty
As stated in military legislation, for a military execution to occur, the approval of the President of the United States is required. However, execution by firing squad is rare as only five states allow it: South Carolina, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah.
In this context, President Trump has been a staunch supporter of the death penalty at the federal level and reinstated it in January 2025. The executive order signed by the president described capital punishment as “an essential tool to deter and punish those who commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens.”
