BREAKING: TRUMP APPROVES EXECUTION OF FORT HOOD SHOOTER BY FIRING SQUAD

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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim

President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of former US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

The US military has not carried out an execution since 1961. According to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, the Army Secretary will determine the date and location for Hasan’s execution.

“Judgment day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell said in a post on X.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, opened fire at a medical facility at Fort Hood where soldiers were undergoing routine medical examinations. He reportedly shouted “Allahu akbar,” meaning “God is great” in Arabic, before firing a laser-sighted handgun.

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The attack left 13 people dead and more than 30 others injured.

During his trial, Hasan offered little defence, acknowledging that he was the gunman. He told jurors that he had acted to prevent soldiers from deploying to Afghanistan and killing fellow Muslims, describing himself as a soldier who had “switched sides.”

Trump’s approval sets in motion several legal and administrative procedures required before the execution can be carried out. However, Hasan could delay the process for years by filing a habeas corpus appeal in the civilian federal court system, according to an article published in May by Army Lawyer magazine.

Death sentences are uncommon within the US military justice system, while executions are even rarer. Four men, including Hasan, are currently on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

In 2008, former President George W. Bush approved the execution of Army Specialist Ronald Gray, but a judge later halted the process, and Gray remains incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth.

Trump’s approval of Hasan’s firing squad execution came days after a failed attempt to execute Tennessee death-row inmate Christa Pike by lethal injection. The incident prompted Tennessee’s governor to suspend further executions in the state this year and order an independent review.

Trump had previously resumed federal executions following an informal moratorium under earlier administrations. The federal government executed 13 people between 2020 and early 2021, making Trump the US president responsible for the highest number of executions in more than a century.

Asked whether the failed Tennessee execution could prompt changes to capital punishment procedures, Trump described the incident as “an interesting situation.”

“It shouldn’t be very difficult,” Trump said regarding the use of lethal injection.