Trump Approves Firing Squad Execution for Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan, Reviving Military Death Penalty After 65 Years

President Donald Trump has given the green light for Nidal Malik Hasan, the former US Army officer convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting, to be put to death by firing squad. The decision, announced by Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement on X, marks a significant moment in US military justice, as it would end a de facto moratorium on military executions that has stood since 1961.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously recommended that the execution order be issued, and Trump has now formally approved it. According to Parnell, the timing of the execution will be determined by Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle. Parnell described the development in stark terms, writing that "judgement day for Hasan has finally come." The specific date and location of the execution have not yet been disclosed, and further procedural steps are expected before any execution takes place.

The case dates back to November 5, 2009, when Hasan, then a major and a psychiatrist in the US Army, entered a processing centre at Fort Hood, a sprawling military base in Texas. Witnesses reported that he shouted "Allahu Akbar" before opening fire on fellow service members who were waiting for medical attention. Over the course of roughly ten minutes, he killed 13 people, including a pregnant soldier, and wounded 32 others. The assault has been described by analysts as the deadliest shooting at a US military installation targeting members of the armed forces. Hasan was eventually subdued after two officers engaged him, and he sustained multiple gunshot wounds that left him paralysed from the waist down.

Hasan was court-martialled almost immediately, and military prosecutors sought the death penalty from the outset. However, the legal process stretched over many years, reflecting the military's long-standing reluctance to carry out capital punishment. During his trial, Hasan chose to represent himself and openly admitted to the attack, stating that he had acted to stop US deployments to Afghanistan and what he described as the killing of his fellow Muslims. He was scheduled to be deployed overseas just weeks after the shooting.

Investigations later revealed that Hasan had exchanged emails with Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American cleric accused of having ties to al-Qaeda, prior to the attack. He had also repeatedly voiced opposition to the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and had complained to colleagues about the treatment of Muslims serving in the military. His court-appointed lawyers argued that his decision to represent himself and his statements in court ultimately worked against his own defence.

In 2013, Hasan was convicted on 13 counts of premeditated murder, and the jury recommended the maximum penalty of death. Notably, he was charged under the category of "workplace violence" rather than terrorism, a controversial decision stemming from the fact that the military justice code at the time did not specifically address terrorism as a standalone crime. The case was further delayed by mandatory appeals, which are automatically triggered in military death penalty cases regardless of whether the defendant seeks them.

Those appeals ran their course over the following years. In 2020, the US Army Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Hasan's death sentence. In 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces reached the same conclusion. Then, in March 2025, the US Supreme Court declined a mandatory petition for judicial review, clearing a significant legal hurdle. In September 2025, Hegseth announced that he was seeking presidential approval to proceed with Hasan's execution, though at that time there was no indication that he was specifically requesting death by firing squad.

Under US military law, the president holds the ultimate authority to determine the method of execution. While lethal injection and hanging have been used in the past, the choice of firing squad represents a notable and controversial decision. Legal analysts note that while Trump's approval sets in motion a series of preparatory steps, Hasan still retains the ability to seek a stay through the civilian federal court system, a process that could delay the execution for years. However, given that Hasan made little effort to defend himself during his trial and has not actively pursued appeals, observers suggest such a move may be unlikely.

Hasan is currently being held at the US Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, where he has been on military death row for years alongside three other men. Among them is Hasan Akbar, who was convicted of two counts of murder following an attack on fellow soldiers at a Kuwait base in 2003 during the invasion of Iraq. Another is Ronald Gray, a convicted serial killer and rapist found guilty of four murders and eight rapes in 2008. Gray's execution was approved that same year under President George W. Bush, but a judge halted the process. Timothy Hennis, a former sergeant convicted in 2010 of a triple murder, also remains on death row.

The last execution carried out by the US military occurred in 1961, when former soldier John Bennett was hanged for the rape of an 11-year-old girl. Since then, no military execution has taken place, making the potential execution of Hasan a historic and highly charged event. The Trump administration has shown a broader willingness to pursue capital punishment for serious crimes, including cases involving civilians, signaling a shift in policy that could have lasting implications for the military justice system.