Pentagon to Livestream Fort Hood Firing Squad Execution

The Pentagon said the planned Fort Hood execution livestream will broadcast the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, according to Reuters, CNN and Associated Press reports.

A Pentagon official told Reuters the execution will be livestreamed, with details to follow. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the public approach in a post on X and in interviews this week, according to CNN and The Straits Times.

Fort Hood execution livestream plan and date

Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle set the execution for December 3 at 1 p.m. local time at Fort Hood, according to CNN and Al Jazeera reports. Hegseth said the timing and location were chosen to match the time and place of the 2009 shooting, according to the same coverage.

Hasan was convicted in July 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder, according to trial coverage summarized by CNN and Al Jazeera. He was sentenced to death. Military executions require presidential approval, and President Donald Trump approved the firing squad method, according to Pentagon statements reported this week.

• Condemned: Nidal Hasan, former Army psychiatrist
• Crime: November 5, 2009 shooting at Fort Hood; 13 killed, 32 wounded
• Execution date set: December 3, 1 p.m. local time, Fort Hood
• Method: firing squad, approved by the president, Pentagon said

First military execution in decades

The execution would be the first by the US military since 1961, when John Bennett was hanged, according to The Straits Times and Reuters. It would be the first US military firing squad execution since 1945, in the case of Eddie Slovik, according to the same reports.

No other country is known to televise or livestream a legal execution, experts told Reuters. Media organizations have previously sought to televise US executions and were blocked by courts, according to Reuters. The last legally sanctioned public execution in the United States was in 1936, death penalty experts told Reuters.

The announcement comes amid renewed US debate over capital punishment following a botched lethal injection in Tennessee last week, according to Haaretz and Reuters coverage.

Reaction and legal questions

Hegseth said making the execution public would show serious consequences, according to his remarks reported by CNN, The Guardian and other outlets. The plan drew swift backlash from both sides of the aisle, CNN reported, and prompted legal and ethical debate summarized by Al Jazeera.

The White House referred questions to the Pentagon, Reuters reported. Hasan’s final requests, if any, had not been announced. Pentagon officials said further details on the livestream — including platform, access and media arrangements — would follow.

What happens before December 3

Military death penalty cases undergo appellate review, and attorneys may seek stays or clemency, though no such action had been announced in reports this week. Army officials have not released a detailed execution protocol publicly.

The Fort Hood execution livestream plan is likely to face court challenges and policy debate in the weeks ahead, based on the initial reaction reported by national outlets. Radio Sea will update this story as the Pentagon releases the promised details.

Public executions in US history

Death penalty historians cited by Reuters place the last legally sanctioned public execution in the United States in 1936. Since then, executions have taken place inside prisons with limited witnesses: officials, victims’ families, attorneys and media representatives under state and federal rules.

Military executions follow the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Army regulations, with the president’s approval required — a step the Pentagon said President Trump completed for Hasan’s case, including specifying the firing squad. The Army has not published a public livestream protocol, and it remains unclear whether any broadcast would be open to the general public online or limited to a controlled feed for media.

Legal scholars interviewed by Al Jazeera and other outlets raised questions about dignity, deterrence claims and the effect on victims’ families, while supporters of the plan argued transparency would reinforce consequences. Those competing views are expected to be tested if the December date holds and challenges are filed.

Families of the 13 people killed in 2009 have followed the case through more than a decade of appeals. The Army has not announced witness arrangements for December, which in capital cases typically include family representatives.