US Plan to Livestream Fort Hood Killer’s Execution Sparks Global Outrage
The United States is facing international backlash over plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.
The Pentagon confirmed that Hasan, 56, would face a firing squad on December 3, following approval by President Donald Trump on the recommendation of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The proposed broadcast has drawn criticism from human rights organisations, politicians and religious leaders, who argue that publicly displaying an execution would violate human dignity and deepen concerns about capital punishment.
The United Nations human rights office warned that livestreaming the execution could breach the international prohibition of torture, while Britain’s Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson described the proposal as disturbing.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also condemned the plan, calling it barbaric and urging Americans to oppose the decision.
However, Vice-President JD Vance defended the severity of Hasan’s crimes, although he said he would not watch the broadcast if it went ahead.
Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 after a military jury found him guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The November 2009 shooting left several others wounded.
The former military psychiatrist opened fire at a Fort Hood medical facility where soldiers were waiting for medical checks before deployment. He was shot during his arrest and left partially paralysed.
Hegseth has defended the proposed livestream, arguing that the public should understand the consequences of serious crimes. Critics, however, warn that broadcasting an execution could turn state punishment into a spectacle.
The proposal has also raised questions about whether Hasan could challenge the decision in court, potentially delaying the planned execution.
If carried out, the firing squad execution would be the first by the US military since 1945. The last military execution using any method took place in 1961.
Human rights advocates say the controversy reflects broader concerns about the American death penalty, particularly following a recent botched lethal injection in Tennessee that renewed scrutiny of execution procedures.
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