President Trump has approved death by U.S. Army firing squad for Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. Justice, it turns out, was just running about 17 years late.
Sean Parnell, assistant to the secretary of war, made the announcement on October 5. “Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended, and President Donald J. Trump has approved, death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009,” Parnell stated. He added that Secretary of the Army Adam Telle will set the time and place of the execution, and closed with a line that pretty much sums it up: “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.” Hegseth reshared the post with exactly one word: “Justice.”
If the Nidal Hasan firing squad execution goes forward, it will be the first time the U.S. Army has used that method since 1945, according to political analyst John Basham. The last soldier executed by Army firing squad was Private Eddie Slovik, shot on January 31, 1945, near Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, France, for desertion. He remains the only U.S. soldier executed for desertion in World War II. Before that, German Lt. Gen. Anton Dostler was shot by a U.S. Army firing squad on December 1, 1945, after a military commission found him guilty of ordering the killing of captured American soldiers.
The last military execution of any kind was a hanging. Army Private John A. Bennett was put to death at Fort Leavenworth on April 13, 1961, for rape and attempted murder. That means the United States military has not executed anyone in over 60 years. Ronald Gray was supposed to be executed in 2008 for rapes and murders he committed in the 1980s, but a court stayed the execution and it never happened. Some people really do fall through the cracks.
The timing carries extra weight. Al-Qaeda has publicly called for more plane hijackings, and Iranian-backed groups and other jihadists are actively looking to target American officials and troops. As Basham noted, Fort Hood terrorist execution news, a death sentence still requires presidential approval, and none has been carried out in more than six decades. Trump just changed that calculus in a big way.
Hasan sat on death row for over a decade while the system ground slowly forward. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he shot down soldiers who couldn’t even fight back because they were on a domestic base. Thirteen families buried someone. Thirty-two more carried wounds home. The man responsible is now facing a loaded rifle, and the only question left is the date on the calendar.
The secretary of the Army will set that date. Drop your thoughts in the comments or share this on social media, because this is one announcement that deserves to travel fast.
