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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters Wednesday he will ask President Donald Trump for final approval to carry out the death sentence of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting that left 13 service members dead.
Hegseth said he is pressing for the execution to proceed without further delay. “I am 100% committed to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan,” he told the Daily Caller. “This savage terrorist deserves the harshest lawful punishment for his 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. The victims and survivors deserve justice without delays.”
Hasan, 49, is imprisoned at the U.S. military’s detention facility in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, after a military jury in 2013 convicted him of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder for the rampage at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, Texas. The Supreme Court in April declined to take up Hasan’s latest appeal, leaving the death sentence intact.
If Trump signs off, the execution would be the first carried out by the U.S. military since 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged for crimes committed while stationed overseas.
On Nov. 5, 2009, Hasan opened fire on soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq, killing 13 and wounding more than 30. Authorities later said Hasan had exchanged messages with extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and that his actions were driven by extremist motives. Witnesses reported Hasan shouted “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” during the attack.
The Pentagon initially treated the episode as workplace violence, a determination that was criticized. The attack was ultimately reclassified as an act of terrorism, allowing victims to receive Purple Hearts and other benefits.
Hasan was tried by court-martial at Fort Hood and sentenced to death by military judges. Under Defense Department procedures, the final administrative path to execution includes a staffing process in which the inmate’s case packet moves through Army and Defense Department officials for recommendations to the president.
If the president approves the execution, Army regulations call for the service secretary and the secretary of war to provide recommendations along with the packet sent to the White House. Military executions are relatively rare in the modern era and are subject to layers of legal and administrative review.
