Trump Approves Firing Squad for Fort Hood Shooter
President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of former U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others during the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. The Army has set December 3, 2026, as the scheduled execution date. If carried out, it would be the first U.S. military execution in more than six decades.
The decision follows a recommendation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Hasan be executed by a U.S. Army firing squad. Under military law, a death sentence imposed by court-martial requires presidential approval before it can be carried out. The Army then establishes the details of the execution. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle subsequently announced the December 3 date.
Hasan was an Army psychiatrist when he opened fire on November 5, 2009, at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, where service members were preparing for deployment. Thirteen people were killed, including 12 active-duty soldiers and one retired serviceman. Thirty-two others were wounded. Hasan was shot and seriously injured by responding law enforcement officers, leaving him partially paralyzed.
The military prosecution resulted in a court-martial rather than a civilian criminal trial. Hasan represented himself during much of the proceedings and did not mount a conventional defense. In 2013, a military jury convicted him of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder and unanimously sentenced him to death. He has remained on military death row since then.
The presidential approval is legally significant because military death sentences are subject to a different process from ordinary state and federal capital cases. The Uniform Code of Military Justice requires presidential approval before a court-martial death sentence can be executed. The decision therefore moves Hasan’s case toward implementation of a sentence imposed more than a decade ago.
The chosen method is also unusual. Firing squads are permitted in a limited number of U.S. states, but executions by that method remain rare. The last known U.S. military execution by firing squad occurred in 1945, while the last U.S. military execution using any method occurred in 1961. If Hasan’s execution proceeds as scheduled, it would mark the military’s return to capital punishment after roughly 65 years.
The method has become part of a broader national debate over capital punishment. The administration expanded the available federal execution methods in 2026 to include firing squads, electrocution and gas asphyxiation in addition to lethal injection. The development came amid continuing problems surrounding the availability and administration of lethal-injection drugs.
Hasan’s case also comes at a time when questions about execution procedures have received renewed attention. Legal experts have raised questions about the Army’s procedures for carrying out a firing-squad execution because military regulations do not publicly provide the same level of operational detail found in some state execution protocols. Hasan’s former attorney has also questioned whether sufficient legal consultation and notice have been provided.
The scheduled execution is not necessarily the final step in the case. Hasan may still pursue legal challenges in federal court, including a habeas corpus petition. Such proceedings could potentially delay the execution date. Consequently, December 3 currently represents the Army’s scheduled date rather than a guarantee that the execution will occur on that day.
The case is also historically notable because of the length of time between the original attack, Hasan’s conviction and the scheduled execution. The 2009 shooting occurred more than 17 years before the current execution date. The case has remained under military jurisdiction throughout that period, with Hasan confined at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
If carried out, Hasan’s execution would therefore have significance beyond the individual case. It would represent the first military use of capital punishment since 1961 and the first known military firing-squad execution since 1945. It could also provide a practical test of the Army’s current procedures for a method of execution that has rarely been used by the U.S. government in modern times.
For now, the legal posture is straightforward: Hasan was convicted and sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013, the President has approved the sentence for execution, and the Army has established a December 3 date. Any remaining court challenges or other legal developments could affect whether and when the execution ultimately occurs.
Key Legal Outcome
- President Trump approved Hasan’s military death sentence.
- The Army has scheduled execution for December 3, 2026.
- Hasan is set to be executed by firing squad.
- Hasan was convicted of 45 counts of murder and attempted murder.
- The execution could still be delayed by federal court challenges.
Why It Matters
- It could become the first U.S. military execution since 1961.
- It would be the first known military firing-squad execution since 1945.
- The case highlights the President’s role in military death sentences.
- It raises questions about modern military execution procedures.
- Potential federal appeals could affect the scheduled execution date.
