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The fort hood shooter case has reignited a fierce national debate over capital punishment, military justice and public accountability after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan would be livestreamed.

A Defense Department official told the BBC that Hasan, who killed 13 unarmed U.S. soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, is scheduled to face a firing squad on Dec. 3. The Pentagon announced earlier this week that it would carry out the first military execution in more than six decades.

If the livestream proceeds, it would mark an extraordinary departure from American execution practices. Legal experts have questioned whether the plan could withstand judicial scrutiny, while human rights advocates and religious leaders have condemned the prospect of broadcasting the killing.

John Mills, a lawyer who works with death-row inmates, described the proposal as unprecedented in the modern era and said it raised questions about the lawfulness of the process.

“People need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things,” Hegseth said.

Planned Livestream Sparks Human Rights and Political Backlash

The prospect of broadcasting Hasan's execution has drawn sharp criticism from international officials and lawmakers.

The United Nations human rights office told AFP that livestreaming the execution would amount to a public execution and violate the absolute prohibition against torture.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut also denounced the idea during an interview with CNN, calling it “disgusting” and comparing it to executions conducted by the Islamic State group.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued its own condemnation, expressing “shock and great sorrow” over the decision.

“Our God is the God of life,” Archbishop Paul Coakley, the conference's president, said. While emphasizing that Hasan's actions could not be justified, Coakley described the proposed broadcast as a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and called for the decision to be reconsidered.

Hegseth and Trump Back the Firing Squad

Hegseth discussed the planned execution in an interview with conservative television outlet Real America's Voice, saying Hasan would face “a firing squad of soldiers — as it should be.”

When asked whether Hasan had made any final requests or contacted President Donald Trump, Hegseth responded: “Don't care. We'll see him on December 3rd.”

A Pentagon spokesperson said Monday that Trump had approved Hegseth's recommendation to execute Hasan. The BBC has asked the White House whether the president also supports livestreaming the event.

Trump said Friday that he believed Hasan deserved execution by firing squad, although he did not address the proposed broadcast.

Speaking at an event ahead of a federal holiday honoring Christopher Columbus, first observed in 1937, Trump argued that the United States had stronger laws in the early 20th century.

“In the 1900s we had really strong laws,” he said, adding that people today could do almost anything without consequences, but that his administration was changing that.

Fort Hood Shooter's Attack Left 13 Soldiers Dead

Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted killing 13 unarmed soldiers during a shooting inside a crowded medical building at Fort Hood in November 2009.

During his 2013 court-martial, Hasan said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He also apologized in court for “any mistakes.”

The attack left survivors and families of the dead confronting its consequences for years. For some, the scheduled execution represents a long-awaited reckoning. For others, the proposed livestream raises separate concerns about how justice should be carried out.

Alonzo Lunsford, a former Army sergeant who was shot seven times during the attack, told the BBC's Today program that he supported execution by firing squad, describing it as a punishment befitting Hasan's actions.

However, Lunsford questioned whether the public should be allowed to watch the event online, particularly because of the message it might send to younger viewers. He said survivors and relatives of the victims should have the opportunity to witness it.

“As far as the families of the fallen and the families of the survivors, and the survivors themselves, yes, I think we should be able to look at it uncensored,” he said.

Lunsford plans to attend the execution. Before the shots are fired, he wants Hasan to look him in the eyes.

“I want him to know he failed. I'm still here,” Lunsford said.

Legal Hurdles Could Delay or Prevent Execution

Despite the announced date, the execution is not necessarily guaranteed to proceed.

Military law requires presidential approval for a military execution, along with appellate review in which a higher court examines the case and determines whether the conviction and sentence can legally move forward.

Mills said Hasan's appellate process had not concluded. He also said Hasan was likely to seek federal court review of his conviction and sentence, a move that could result in a stay of execution.

For that reason, Mills said he would be surprised if the execution took place as scheduled.

“Seeking to make it livestreamed, a firing squad execution, is little more than attention-seeking by the Trump administration and is unlikely to occur, much less deliver any semblance of justice,” he said.

The unresolved legal process leaves a significant question hanging over the Pentagon's announcement: whether the administration can carry out the execution on its chosen date, much less broadcast it to the public.

Livestream Would Break With American Execution Tradition

Public access to executions varies by state. Some jurisdictions require journalists to attend, while others allow the person being executed to invite witnesses or permit members of the public to volunteer.

But a livestreamed execution would be different.

“There hasn't ever been a livestreamed execution,” said Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor who has studied execution methods in the United States.

Denno said a broadcast could force a level of transparency that the country has rarely, if ever, experienced in its execution practices.

She noted that more than half of Americans support the death penalty, although public support has declined over the longer term. That support, she said, could lead some people to argue that those who endorse capital punishment should see how executions are conducted.

Denno also raised questions about safeguards, including whether a livestream would be age-restricted.

Army Rules Limit Who Can Witness Military Executions

Under Army Regulation 190-55, access to military executions is restricted to certain categories of people, including journalists and relatives. People younger than 18 are excluded.

The BBC has asked the Pentagon and the U.S. Army whether those restrictions would be waived for the planned livestream and what measures would prevent children from watching.

A Defense Department official told the BBC that additional details about the broadcast would be provided later.

The unanswered questions include who would be permitted to view the event, whether access would be restricted and how the military would reconcile a public broadcast with existing rules governing witnesses.

Global Execution Figures Put U.S. Practice in Focus

The proposed broadcast comes amid renewed scrutiny of capital punishment around the world.

Amnesty International reported more than 2,700 executions across 17 countries last year, but only two nations were known to have conducted public executions. Iran carried out 11 publicly reported executions in 2025, while Afghanistan carried out another six, according to the organization.

Amnesty's data lists China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United States as the countries with the highest numbers of executions last year, in that order.

Trump reversed former President Joe Biden's moratorium on federal executions after returning to the White House.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in July found that 66% of Americans supported executing people convicted of murder, an increase of six percentage points over five years.

Last Military Execution Took Place in 1961

The United States has not carried out a military execution since 1961, when an Army private was hanged after being convicted of raping an 11-year-old Austrian girl.

Then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the execution. It went ahead despite the victim's family asking his successor, John F. Kennedy, for clemency.

The most recent military execution by firing squad occurred much earlier, in January 1945. Eddie Slovik, a young Army deserter, was shot during the final months of World War II.

If Hasan's execution proceeds on Dec. 3, it would mark the first military execution by firing squad since Slovik's death and the first military execution of any kind since 1961.

Whether the public will witness the event through a livestream remains uncertain. The proposed broadcast has already become a flashpoint in a debate extending far beyond the fate of the fort hood shooter — touching on victims' families, constitutional and legal safeguards, human rights and the limits of public spectacle in the administration of justice.