Nidal Hasan Faces Dec. 3 Firing Squad as Expert Says 13-Killing Case Could Spur Wider Use
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 11
Nidal Hasan Faces Dec. 3 Firing Squad as Expert Says 13-Killing Case Could Spur Wider Use
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 11
Summary
Dec. 3 is set for Nidal Hasan’s firing squad execution, a military death sentence tied to the 2009 Fort Hood attack that killed 13 people and wounded 32.
Deborah Denno, a Fordham Law death-penalty expert, said a quick, trouble-free execution could encourage more states to use firing squads as lethal injection loses favor.
Idaho, Utah and South Carolina already allow the method, driven in part by drug shortages and reliability concerns that deepened after a Tennessee inmate survived two pentobarbital doses last week.
South Carolina’s 2025 execution of Mikal Mahdi still clouds that argument: defense lawyers said only two of three bullets hit him and missed the intended heart target, prolonging his death.
The Pentagon has also said the execution will be livestreamed, making the first U.S. military execution since 1961 a potential test case for how firing squads are viewed nationwide.
How will the Army logistically execute a paralyzed inmate by firing squad for the first time since 1945?
Could unrevealed procedural errors or last-minute legal appeals halt the military's first execution in 65 years?
The 2026 Fort Hood Execution: Military Firing Squad Returns After 65 Years in Nidal Hasan Case
Overview
The report traces the path from Nidal Malik Hasan’s radicalization and planning in 2009, through the Fort Hood mass shooting, his conviction and death sentence, and the long legal process leading to the 2026 execution order. It highlights how nationwide problems with lethal injection drugs and a botched Tennessee execution pushed federal and military authorities to adopt the firing squad, with President Trump directing this method for Hasan’s execution. The overview also connects the broader shift in military and federal execution policy to practical challenges and legal changes, showing how one high-profile case reflects systemic changes in the U.S. military death penalty.