4 hrs ago
Vance Questions Livestream of Hasan Execution Amid Growing Condemnation
Nidal Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.
He is scheduled to be executed by firing squad at the Texas base on December 3.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be public, and a Pentagon official said it would be livestreamed.
Vice President JD Vance said he was not sure the livestream would happen and would not watch it.
President Donald Trump said Hasan deserves execution but has not said whether it should be shown online.
Several lawmakers, religious leaders and human rights officials have criticized the livestream plan.
Some warn it could be cruel or help terrorist recruiters.
The reports differ on when the last US military execution took place: sources cite 1945 for a firing squad, while one group cites 1961 for an execution by any method.
Nidal Hasan’s execution by firing squad is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, where he killed 13 people in 2009.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be made public, and a Pentagon official told AFP it would be livestreamed.
Vice President JD Vance said he does not know whether the livestream will happen and would not watch it.
President Donald Trump said Hasan deserves execution but has not stated whether he supports livestreaming it.
Critics including lawmakers, former officials, Catholic leaders and the UN human rights office warned the broadcast could be cruel, damaging or useful to terrorist recruiters.
- Who
- Nidal Hasan is scheduled for execution; Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump and others commented on the proposed livestream.
- What
- The Pentagon has announced plans to livestream Hasan’s firing-squad execution, though Vance said he does not know whether it will proceed.
- Where
- Fort Hood, Texas.
- When
- The execution is scheduled for December 3; the reports were published October 9.
- Why
- Hasan was convicted by a military jury of killings connected to the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
Critics of the Livestream
Rationale for Publicity
Whether the execution should be broadcast
Critics of the Livestream
Lawmakers, Archbishop Paul Coakley and the UN human rights office condemned the proposed broadcast, describing it as degrading, barbaric or contrary to US values.
Rationale for Publicity
Pete Hegseth said making the execution public would show that serious consequences follow such acts.
Possible effect on security and public values
Critics of the Livestream
Joe Kent and Senator Jack Reed warned that a livestream could provide propaganda to terrorist recruiters and damage US interests and values.
Rationale for Publicity
Hegseth presented public visibility as a way to demonstrate consequences; the reports provide no direct response from him to the recruitment warnings.
Key facts
- Scheduled execution
- December 3
- Planned method
- Firing squad
- Location
- Fort Hood, Texas
- Victims
- 13 people were killed in the 2009 attack; 30 people were wounded, according to one report
- Livestream announcement
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be public; a Pentagon official told AFP it would be livestreamed
- Vance’s position
- He said he was unsure whether the livestream would happen and would not watch it
- Historical discrepancy
- Reports identify 1945 as the last US military firing-squad execution; Death Penalty Action says the last military execution by any method was in 1961
Quotes
Archbishop Paul Coakley
President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“Whatever the controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don’t forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people.”
theprint.in
“Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.”
theprint.in
Sources
Related news
Pentagon Plans Livestream of Hasan’s Fort Hood Firing-Squad Execution
UN Says Livestreamed US Military Execution Would Amount to Torture
New Zealand Says It Cannot Block Planned US Execution Livestream
Lawmakers Slam Hegseth’s Proposal to Broadcast Fort Hood Execution
Pentagon Says Hasan's Fort Hood Execution Will Be Livestreamed
