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The US military plans to execute former Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad, in what would be its first execution using the method since World War II.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on social media on Monday that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had recommended the execution and President Donald Trump had approved it. The secretary of the Army will set the time and place, Parnell said.
Hasan, a military psychiatrist, was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder for the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. A panel of 13 officers unanimously recommended a death sentence.
On 5 November 2009, Hasan killed 13 unarmed soldiers and wounded 32 others at a crowded medical building where troops awaiting deployment were receiving check-ups and vaccinations. It was the deadliest non-combat attack ever at a US military base.
During his 2013 court-martial, Hasan said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He admitted in court that he was the gunman and apologised for “any mistakes”.
Hasan is one of four inmates on the US military’s death row. Under military law, an execution requires the president’s approval, appellate review and a final ruling on its legality.
The US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983. It was reinstated the following year by an executive order signed by then-President Ronald Reagan.
Firing squad executions remain rare in the United States. South Carolina carried one out last year, the first in the state and the first use of the method in the country in 15 years. Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah also allow executions by firing squad.
Trump supports the federal death penalty and reinstated it through an executive order on the first day of his administration in January 2025. Under his predecessor, Joe Biden, the Justice Department had imposed a moratorium on federal executions.
