The US military execution of former Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan would mark a historic return to the firing squad for military capital punishment. The Pentagon says the former military psychiatrist, convicted of killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, is set to be executed after the recommendation received approval from President Donald Trump.
US military execution approved after Fort Hood massacre
Hasan was convicted by a panel of military officers of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. The verdict followed the November 2009 attack at Fort Hood in Texas, where soldiers awaiting medical appointments and vaccinations were targeted inside a crowded medical facility.
The attack killed 13 people and injured 32 others, making it the deadliest non-combat assault on a US military base. Hasan later acknowledged in court that he was the gunman and expressed regret for what he described as “mistakes”. During his 2013 court-martial, he said he believed he was acting to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
According to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recommended the execution and President Trump approved it. The Secretary of the Army must now determine the date and location, while the case remains subject to appellate review and a final legal determination.
Why the firing squad would be historically significant
If carried out, the sentence would be the first US military execution by firing squad since the end of the Second World War. Military executions are separate from state-level death sentences and require presidential approval under military law.
Hasan is one of four prisoners currently held on the US military’s death row. The death penalty has a complicated legal history within the armed forces. Although the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983, it was restored the following year through an executive order signed during Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
How common is execution by firing squad?
Firing squads remain an uncommon method of execution in the United States. South Carolina carried out a firing-squad execution last year, the state’s first and the first such execution in the country in 15 years. Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah also permit the method in specific circumstances.
Most US executions take place under state authority, although capital punishment remains legally available in 27 states, as well as through the federal government and military justice system.
Trump administration renews focus on capital punishment
President Trump has publicly supported the federal death penalty and restored its use through an executive order issued at the beginning of his administration in January 2025. The order described capital punishment as a tool intended to deter and punish the most serious crimes involving lethal violence.
The policy reversed a moratorium introduced under President Joe Biden’s administration, when the Justice Department paused federal executions. The renewed policy has placed capital punishment back at the centre of national debate, including questions about deterrence, appeals, victims’ families and the methods used to carry out sentences.
What happens next in the Hasan case?
The announcement does not mean the execution can take place immediately. Several procedural steps remain:
- The Secretary of the Army must set the time and place.
- Military appellate courts must complete their review.
- A final legal ruling must confirm that the sentence can proceed.
- Authorities must organise the execution under military regulations.
These safeguards are designed to ensure that the conviction and sentence meet constitutional and military legal requirements. The case is likely to attract renewed attention because of the proposed execution method and the long-running debate over military capital punishment.
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Key takeaway
The proposed US military execution of Nidal Malik Hasan would be an unprecedented event in modern American military justice, combining a high-profile Fort Hood conviction with the first military firing-squad execution in more than six decades. However, appellate review and final legal approval must still be completed before any execution date can be confirmed.
