The 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a jihadi Muslim attack by Hasan, ended with 13 people killed and 32 others wounded. After being found guilty on 45 counts, Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad December 3.
Not only is Hasan going to be executed by firing squad, which was ordered by President Donald Trump, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced the execution will be open for the public to attend and will be livestreamed.
Military analyst Bob Maginnis, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, tells AFN he supports allowing the American public to witness what he calls the “lawful administration” of a death sentence.
“Of course it should be done solemnly, conducted with restraint and respect for the victim's families,” Maginnis advises.
Major Hasan, an army psychiatrist, committed mass murder after learning in October 2009 he was being deployed to the Middle East. Demonstrating where his allegiance lies, he entered a crowded readiness process center, shouted “Allahu Akbar!” and opened fire on unarmed soldiers and civilians readying for deployment overseas.
At his court-martial, in 2013, Hasan represented himself at trial and remained defiant. “I am the shooter,” he told the court.
A military jury convicted Hasan on all counts and recommended a death sentence.
Hasan took 13 innocent lives that day, Maginnis advises, and now he is being held accountable for that by our government.
Discussing the death penalty and live execution, AFR show host Jenna Ellis said she supports Hasan’s execution but is unsure how to react to the livestreaming his death.
“My concern is that this becomes a spectacle,” she shared, likening it to a “watch party” with popcorn.
“So this should be taken soberly and seriously,” she told guest Auron MacIntyre. “I'm just not sure that a livestream meets that threshold.”
Looking back to world history, MacIntyre pointed out public executions have been common occurrences going back centuries. He compared that history to today, when everyone from Pope Leo to pro-life activists are opposing Hasan's execution because they oppose the death penalty.
Recalling why Hasan is scheduled to be executed, MacIntyre called him a “monster” for shooting more than 40 people and taking the lives of 13 of them.
“He deserves in every way, shape, or form to meet his end and just punishment,” MacIntyre reasoned. “And if people see that live, I don't think there's anything evil or wrong, or morally degrading, with that.”
On a CNN panel, Republican panelist Scott Jennings said he opposed the livestreaming and hopes President Trump will reconsider that plan.
Hasan will be considered a martyr in Islam when he is executed, and livestreaming it will only make that worse, he argued.
