Fort Hood shooter's execution to be broadcast live in the US

The execution of Hasan, the army psychiatrist who carried out the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, will take place on December 3 and be broadcast live. US Defense Secretary Hegseth said so, and an anonymous Pentagon official told Reuters that details would be released later.

Hegseth first told a conservative TV channel in an interview: “We will make sure people have the chance to watch it, that everything is public.” He later briefly confirmed this on X. The army announced the date and place of the execution this week.

Questions, disputes and possible delay

According to the Associated Press, the announcement raised fresh questions about how the United States carries out death sentences. The agency recalled the recent botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee, where the lethal injection was not administered properly.

Experts note that Hasan could still petition a civilian court to review the lawfulness of his detention. Lawyers say this could delay the execution significantly. Military law specialist Eugene Fidell of Yale University observed that the whole process may outlast the current administration, and it is unknown whether the next one will be as willing to carry out executions.

When Hegseth was asked on Wednesday whether Hasan had made any final requests to the Trump administration, the Pentagon chief replied: “I don't care. See you on December 3.” The convict's conduct suggests he may not pursue an appeal: at trial he represented himself, called no witnesses, gave no closing argument and told investigators he “could still become a martyr.”

What happened at Fort Hood

On November 5, 2009, Hasan, a major and army psychiatrist, walked into a medical building where soldiers were standing in long lines for vaccinations and checkups before deploying overseas. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” and opened fire with a pistol fitted with a laser sight, including shooting people in the back as they ran toward the parking lot.

He later said he wanted to stop the soldiers from going to Afghanistan, where they would kill his fellow Muslims. In 2013 a military judge barred him from using that argument as a defense. Police shot Hasan in the back; he is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair.

The last military execution in the US took place on April 13, 1961, when Private John Bennett was hanged for the rape and attempted murder of an eleven-year-old girl. Executions have never been broadcast live in the country. In 2001 two media companies sought to show the execution of terrorist Timothy McVeigh on the internet, but a federal court refused, citing reluctance to allow a sensational spectacle, the need to maintain prison order and the convict's right to privacy. The last public execution is considered to be one held in Missouri in 1937.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz