President Donald Trump has approved the execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, by firing squad, marking the first such military execution in over 60 years. Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, will be the first U.S. soldier to face this method of execution since 1961.
The decision was made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and approved by Trump. The Army secretary will determine the time and place of the execution. Hasan, who was sentenced to death in 2013, will be the first military member to be executed since 1961. The Trump administration has added firing squad as an acceptable method of execution alongside electrocution and gas asphyxiation.
Military executions are rare and require presidential approval under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The execution will be the first by firing squad since the end of World War Two. The move follows a federal executive order that reinstated the death penalty as an option for the most severe federal crimes.