Hegseth says firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter will be ‘public’

An official at the Pentagon told Al Jazeera that former US Army Major Nidal Hassan’s execution would be ‘livestreamed’.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said the public execution will underscore the 'serious consequences' for crimes like the 2009 Fort Hood shooting [File: Alex Wroblewski/AFP]

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the execution of a former US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in Texas will be publicly available to watch.

In an interview with the media outlet Real America’s Voice on Thursday, Hegseth was asked about President Donald Trump’s recent order to use a firing squad to execute Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of the 2009 shooting.

list 1 of 3 Fort Hood shooting trial begins

list 2 of 3 Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood attacker Nidal Hasan

list 3 of 3 Fort Hood shooter to be executed by firing squad: All to know

The secretary said he approved of the decision, calling it a “no-brainer”.

“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth told interviewer Jack Posobiec. “Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”

Hegseth added that the execution would take place at Fort Hood on December 3 at 1pm US Central Time (19:00 GMT), the same time that the 2009 shooting took place.

Hasan was sentenced to death in August 2013 after a military jury found him guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder for the shooting.

The former Army major walked into an army processing centre on the Texas base, shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) and opened fire on fellow military members waiting to get medical attention.

Hasan’s execution required approval from Hegseth and Trump, who authorised the use of the firing squad on Monday.

An official with the Defense Department told Al Jazeera that Hasan’s execution would be “livestreamed”, adding that more details would come soon.

It is not clear from Hegseth’s remarks whether troops, spectators or US military officials would be present in person for the execution. US Army regulation states that at least two media outlets should be selected as witnesses.

No state or federal execution has ever been televised in the US. The last public execution in the country took place more than 90 years ago in Owensboro, Kentucky, on August 14, 1936.

The last time a US military execution was conducted by firing squad was in 1945, for desertion during World War II.

When asked to comment on Hegseth’s remarks – and whether Trump would view the execution – the White House referred Al Jazeera to the Pentagon.

The Trump administration announced it would add death by firing squad as an acceptable method for federal executions in April, along with gas asphyxiation and electrocution.

五角大楼一位官员告诉半岛电视台，美国前陆军少校尼达尔·哈桑的处决将进行“直播”。

美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯表示，公开处决将凸显2009年胡德堡枪击案等罪行的“严重后果”。[图片：Alex Wroblewski/法新社]

美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯表示，对在德克萨斯州胡德堡军事基地枪杀 13 人的前美国陆军精神病学家执行死刑将公开进行。

周四，赫格塞斯在接受媒体“真正的美国之声”采访时，被问及唐纳德·特朗普总统最近下令使用枪决队处决尼达尔·哈桑一事。尼达尔·哈桑因 2009 年的枪击案而被定罪。

胡德堡枪击案审判开始（共3条记录，第1条）

特朗普批准对胡德堡袭击者尼达尔·哈桑执行枪决（共3条，第2条）

胡德堡枪击案三名嫌犯名单（其中三名将被枪决）：你需要知道的一切

这位部长表示他赞同这一决定，称其“显而易见”。

“我们会确保人们能够看到，确保它是公开的，”赫格塞斯告诉采访者杰克·波索比克。“因为人们需要明白，这类事情会带来严重的后果。”

赫格塞斯补充说，行刑将于美国中部时间 12 月 3 日下午 1 点（格林尼治标准时间 19:00）在胡德堡进行，与 2009 年枪击事件发生的时间相同。

2013 年 8 月，军事陪审团认定哈桑犯有 45 项预谋杀人和谋杀未遂罪，判处其死刑。

这位前陆军少校走进德克萨斯州基地的一个陆军处理中心，高喊“真主至大”，并向正在等待接受医疗救治的战友开枪。

哈桑的死刑执行需要得到赫格塞斯和特朗普的批准，他们于周一授权使用枪决队。

国防部一名官员告诉半岛电视台，哈桑的处决将进行“直播”，并补充说更多细节很快就会公布。

从赫格塞斯的讲话中无法得知行刑时是否会有士兵、观众或美军官员在场。美国陆军规定，至少应选择两家媒体作为见证人。

美国历史上从未进行过州或联邦层面的死刑执行电视直播。该国最后一次公开执行死刑是在90多年前的1936年8月14日，地点是肯塔基州欧文斯伯勒。

美国上一次使用枪决方式处决军人是在 1945 年，原因是二战期间的逃兵行为。

当被问及对赫格塞斯言论的评论，以及特朗普是否会观看死刑执行时，白宫让半岛电视台去问五角大楼。

特朗普政府于4月宣布，将枪决作为联邦死刑的可接受方式之一，与窒息式死刑和电刑并列。