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Plan for public military execution sparks bipartisan backlash
Confirmed
In Short: The Pentagon announced it will livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, sparking bipartisan backlash.
According to Aleteia, a free online daily news publication based in the United States, the decision to livestream the execution has drawn sharp condemnation from religious leaders and human rights advocates. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for instance, issued a statement expressing shock and sorrow over the decision.
In contrast, Global News (Canada) and Scmp (Hong Kong) reported that the execution will be broadcast on conservative media outlets, with some supporters viewing it as a necessary measure to deter future attacks. Abc (Australia) noted that the execution would mark the first known broadcast or livestream of a lawful execution in the United States.
While the outlets differ in their coverage of the public reaction, they all agree that the execution of Hasan by firing squad will be livestreamed and will take place at Fort Hood on December 3.
The decision to livestream the execution has also drawn criticism from legal experts and human rights groups, who argue that it undermines the moral fabric of the nation and sets a dangerous precedent.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, said the execution would be made public to ensure that people understand the serious consequences of such actions. He emphasized that the execution would be a “no brainer” punishment for a “radical Islamist terror attack” on U.S. service members.
However, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, stated that the planned livestream is “disturbing and makes a mockery of our legal system.”
The execution of Hasan by firing squad marks the first public military execution in the United States since the 1930s, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The last state-sanctioned public execution in America took place in Kentucky in 1936.
Despite the controversy, the Pentagon has confirmed that the execution will be livestreamed, with the FCC Chairman deferring to Secretary Hegseth about the broadcast.
The decision to livestream the execution has also drawn criticism from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called it a “barbaric idea.” She noted that public executions are typically associated with oppressive dictatorships and should not be happening in America.
In summary, while the outlets differ in their coverage of the public reaction, they all agree that the execution of Hasan by firing squad will be livestreamed and will take place at Fort Hood on December 3, marking the first public military execution in the United States since the 1930s.
What this adds
The execution, scheduled for December 3, will take place by firing squad, marking the first public execution in the United States since 1936. The decision to livestream the execution has sparked bipartisan backlash, with religious leaders, human rights advocates, and legal experts expressing concern over the moral implications and the precedent it sets.
Background
The execution, scheduled for December 3, will take place by firing squad, marking the first public execution in the United States since 1936.
The Pentagon announced Thursday that it will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the first military execution since World War II, set for December 3 at Fort Hood.
What's confirmed
- The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.
- On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the proceedings would be available for public viewing.
- US Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth had said that Nidal Hasan would be executed by firing squad and that it would be done "in public."
- The Army announced this week that the execution would take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3 after Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting at the military base in 2009.
- “Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America,” Tillis wrote on X.
- "Death penalty through firing squad, and he deserves it," Mr. Trump said during an unrelated White House event on Friday.
- Set us as preferred In confirming his plans to livestream Ft. Hood mass shooter Nidal Malik Hasan’s military execution by firing squad on Dec. 3, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called it a “no brainer” punishment for a “radical Islamist terror attack” on U.S. service members.
- The US Government says Nidal Hasan's death by firing squad will be live streamed. ( AFP: Bell Country Sherriff's Department ) US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said the execution of convicted Fort Hood military base shooter Nidal Hasan will be livestreamed.
What's still developing
- The death penalty in the United States is already at the forefront of public debate after a woman survived two attempts to kill her by lethal injection on September 30 in Tennessee.
- The Rev. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas, said he supports the Pentagon’s announcement this week that the execution of the Fort Hood shooter will be public and livestreamed.
- “I see it as a recovery of a kind of vicious theology,” Long said of religious support for broadcasting the execution.
- Now, Hegseth is making clear the public will be able to watch it.
- What the US is turning to is a certain news channel starting with an “F”.
- The execution of death row inmate Christa Pike was halted nearly two hours after the state of Tennessee began the lethal injection protocol. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) The Wednesday execution of Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike was halted after the state of Tennessee administered two failed rounds of its lethal injection protocol and federal public defenders filed an emergency appeal to end the execution and get Pike medical care.
- Trump referenced Hasan’s case during remarks Wednesday night, calling him an “evil killer” and saying the military would “deliver final justice.” Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, killed 13 people and injured more than 30 when he opened fire inside a Fort Hood medical building where soldiers were receiving routine checkups.
- The announcement that Trump had approved Hasan to be killed by firing squad came after a jury, in August 2013, found Hasan “guilty on all charges of murder and attempted murder” regarding the November 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood.
- MADISON (WKOW) -- The Wisconsin Elections Commission is calling on the U.S. Postal Service to implement "extraordinary measures" for future elections after two-thirds of local clerks reported mail delays following the state's spring election in April.
- “They don’t need the government to tell them to slow it down. If they want to slow it down, they should,” Johnson said.