Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas, on December 3, the U.S. Army announced Wednesday. Hasan was convicted for the 2009 shooting spree at the same military base that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others, marking the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. military installation.
President Donald Trump approved the execution earlier this month. If carried out, Hasan would be the first individual executed through the military justice system since 1961. The last service member executed by firing squad was Pvt. Edward Donald Slovik, who was executed for desertion during World War II in 1945.
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, committed the shooting on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood. Armed with a personal handgun, he opened fire on fellow soldiers, resulting in multiple casualties. During his court-martial proceedings, Hasan stated that the attack was intended as an act of jihad against U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, which he described as illegal and immoral.
In August 2013, Hasan was convicted on 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder. Five days later, he was sentenced to death. Currently, he remains incarcerated on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Hasan is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot four times by responding law enforcement officers during the 2009 incident.
Army regulations issued in 2023 specify that all available and lawful execution methods are to be reviewed by the Army secretary before a method is chosen. The acting secretary of the Army, Adam R. Telle, selected execution by firing squad for Hasan. According to these regulations, executions must occur no sooner than 60 days and no later than 150 days after presidential approval. Hasan’s execution is set for 1 p.m. Central Standard Time on December 3, 63 days after Trump’s authorization.
Details regarding Hasan’s execution remain limited, including whether he will be shot while seated in his wheelchair or secured upright. The 2023 Army guidelines also require at least two media representatives to witness the execution.
The Defense Department has not commented extensively on the upcoming execution. However, Sean Parnell, a Defense Department spokesman, posted on social media that “judgment day for Hasan has finally come.” Hasan’s defense attorney, Jonathan F. Potter, declined to comment when contacted.
The execution marks a significant moment for the military justice system, which has rarely carried out capital punishment in recent decades. The case remains a focal point due to its tragic impact, complexities surrounding military law, and the methods chosen for the upcoming execution.