The Pentagon’s reported plan to livestream the execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan has brought renewed attention to the use of capital punishment by the US military.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the public would be allowed to watch the planned firing squad execution, scheduled for 3 December at Fort Hood, Texas, where the 2009 mass shooting took place.
Hegseth described the execution as a “no-brainer”, arguing that it would demonstrate the consequences of attacks against American service personnel.
The former army psychiatrist was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 after being convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.
Hasan opened fire at a Fort Hood facility where soldiers were waiting for medical checks before deployment, killing 13 people and injuring others.
Hegseth said the execution would be carried out by soldiers using rifles, describing it as the first US military firing squad execution since the Second World War.
The announcement comes amid renewed scrutiny of the death penalty in the United States, including concerns surrounding execution methods following a recent incident involving a death-row prisoner in Tennessee.
The proposed livestream raises questions about public access to executions, the role of punishment in military justice and how authorities communicate the consequences of violent crimes.
Hasan’s planned execution remains a significant development in one of the most notorious attacks on a US military installation.