The Army scheduled Nidal Malik Hasan’s firing-squad execution at Fort Hood for Dec. 3, and Pentagon officials said it would be livestreamed. Trump has said he will make the final broadcast decision; Vance questioned whether the livestream would happen, while human-rights officials, lawmakers and Catholic leaders criticized the plan.
Summary written by our automated pipeline from the outlets' reporting. How it works
Grouped by where each speaker is from. Quotation marks are the speaker's own words; other lines are our summaries.
Differ among themselves on: Whether the livestream decision had been made · Where accounts differ
“I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes.”
Quoted in NDTV · also 2 other outlets
“…he’s going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be”
Quoted in The Guardian · also 5 other outlets
“…if it's through live stream, I'm not going to be watching it”
Quoted in BBC News · also 8 other outlets
In Congress
“I absolutely support the sentence of death, but live-streaming executions is what jihadists do.”
Quoted in Fox News · also 2 other outlets
“…is what terrorists and authoritarian regimes do. It's un-American.”
Quoted in Deutsche Welle
Points where outlets or parties give conflicting facts or readings. Each side is summarised by our pipeline; its sources are listed under it.
Pentagon officials said Hasan’s execution would be livestreamed.
Trump said no decision had been made and that he would make the final decision.
Donald Trump, U.S. president · our summary of NDTV
US President Donald Trump, U.S. president · our summary of Yonhap News Agency
Reactions from other countries and bodies, others involved, and commentary.
“…unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle”
Quoted in Fox News · also 2 other outlets
Inman Grant rejected the allegations and declined an invitation to speak before a US congressional hearing.
Our summary of The Guardian
Dujarric said that a public execution or one broadcast live before cameras is frankly disgusting.
Our summary of RIA Novosti
“Казнь на публике или перед камерами в прямом эфире, откровенно говоря, отвратительна”
No translation yet.
“…barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered.”
Quoted in NDTV, via AFP · also 5 other outlets
“…barbaric promotion of a culture of death.”
Quoted in Deutsche Welle
John Galligan called the rush to conduct the execution horrific.
Our summary of CBC News
The UN Convention against Torture describes public executions as a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Our summary of Der Spiegel
“My advice would be not to watch the event at all and I would hope that mainstream media would not transmit highly traumatic images [or] sounds.”
Quoted in The Guardian
“What's the point of it? Who would want to see that?”
Quoted in Daily Maverick, via Reuters
“Other than Hasan, I'm not sure anyone could”
Quoted in PBS NewsHour, via Associated Press
“Arguing the Army can't livestream it because some parent wouldn't be able to stop their kid from watching it on the computer strikes me as a very unlikely piece of litigation”
Quoted in PBS NewsHour, via Associated Press
Parnell announced Hegseth’s recommendation and Trump’s approval on Oct. 5.
Sources: Le Monde
Sean Parnell said that Pete Hegseth recommended, and Donald Trump approved, Nidal Hasan's execution by firing squad.
“…a recommandé – et le président [américain] Donald Trump a approuvé – que le terroriste condamné Nidal Malik Hasan soit exécuté par un peloton d’exécution de l’armée américaine”
Machine translation: “…recommended—and President [U.S.] Donald Trump approved—that convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan be executed by a U.S. Army firing squad”
The UN human-rights office warned on Oct. 9 that livestreaming would amount to a public execution and violate the prohibition on torture.
Sources: Le Monde (via AFP)
The UN human rights office said livestreaming an execution would constitute a public execution and violate the absolute prohibition on torture.
“La diffusion en direct d’une exécution équivaut à une exécution publique et violerait l’interdiction absolue de la torture”
No translation yet.
Vance said on Oct. 9 that he was unsure whether the livestream would happen and would not watch if it did.
Sources: Clarín
Trump said on Oct. 10 that there were arguments both for and against showing the execution and that he would make the final decision.
Sources: Yonhap News Agency
Trump said there were arguments both for and against livestreaming the execution.
Trump said he would make the final decision about livestreaming the execution.
Mullin defended the livestream plan and dismissed concerns about increased security risks on Oct. 11.
Sources: BBC News · Yonhap News Agency
Mullin said he saw no elevated risk from the plan.
Mullin dismissed concerns that livestreaming the execution could encourage extremists or turn Hasan into a martyr.
Mullin said he did not think the risk would increase at present.
“[Hasan] killed 13 individuals on Fort Hood. I have no sympathy for him, and I give absolutely zero thought to the way that this man dies”
Broglio criticized the Pentagon’s proposed plans to livestream the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan in a Monday statement.
Sources: The Guardian
Broglio criticized the Pentagon's plans to livestream Hasan's execution.
Broglio urged any Catholic soldier assigned to the firing squad to ask to be excused.
Broglio said the firing squad duty conflicts with church teachings.
“…does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose?”
“Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheelchair to the whole world?”
Each outlet's headline, linked to its article. Non-English headlines are machine-translated. The groupings and notes on what each outlet emphasises are automated.
None of our outlets is based in Vatican. Our outlets in Australia didn't cover it.
Written by our automated pipeline from the statements in the coverage; each point lists the statements it rests on.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth recommended execution by Army firing squad and Trump approved it. Accounts differ on whether Trump authorized it on Oct. 2, Oct. 5 or Oct. 6; Parnell announced the decision on Oct. 5.
Sean Parnell, Pentagon spokesperson · our summary of Clarín
“Pete Hegseth, recomendó y el presidente Donald J. Trump ha aprobado la ejecución mediante un pelotón de fusilamiento del Ejército de los EE.UU.”
Machine translation: “Pete Hegseth recommended, and President Donald J. Trump has approved, execution by a U.S. Army firing squad.”
Sean Parnell, Pentagon spokesperson · our summary of Le Monde
“…a recommandé – et le président [américain] Donald Trump a approuvé – que le terroriste condamné Nidal Malik Hasan soit exécuté par un peloton d’exécution de l’armée américaine”
Machine translation: “…recommended—and President [U.S.] Donald Trump approved—that convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan be executed by a U.S. Army firing squad”
Adam Telle, Acting U.S. Army secretary · our summary of CBC News
Our summary of Meduza
The Army scheduled the execution for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood. Hegseth said rifle-armed soldiers would carry it out at 1 p.m.; Pentagon officials said it would be livestreamed, but the platform and public-access arrangements have not been specified.
Adam Telle, Acting U.S. Army secretary · our summary of Fox News
Pete Hegseth, U.S. defense secretary · our summary of Clarín
“…serán soldados con rifles los que lleven a cabo el fusilamiento”
Machine translation: “It will be soldiers with rifles who carry out the execution.”
Pete Hegseth, U.S. defense secretary · our summary of Clarín
Pentagon, U.S. defense establishment · our summary of Clarín, via EFE
Trump said he would make the final livestream decision and suggested a broadcast might deter others. Vance said he was unsure the livestream would happen and would not watch; Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin dismissed security concerns, saying he saw no elevated risk and that watching would be optional.
US President Donald Trump, U.S. president · our summary of Yonhap News Agency
“Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won't be doing what he did.”
“I don't know that that's actually going to happen”
“…if it's through live stream, I'm not going to be watching it”
The UN human-rights office said livestreaming would amount to a public execution and breach the prohibition on torture. Lawmakers from both parties and Catholic leaders criticized the plan; Coakley said Hasan’s actions could not be condoned while urging reconsideration, and Cardinal Parolin called making death a spectacle unacceptable.
OHCHR · our summary of UN News
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights · our summary of Clarín, via AFP
“Como el Alto Comisionado ha subrayado en reacción a las ejecuciones públicas en Afganistán e Irán, las ejecuciones públicas constituyen una forma de trato o pena cruel, inhumano o…”
No translation yet.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights · our summary of Clarín, via AFP
“La retransmisión en directo de una ejecución equivale a una ejecución pública y violaría la prohibición absoluta de la tortura”
No translation yet.
lawmakers from both parties, U.S. lawmakers · our summary of The Hindu
Galligan called the rush to carry out the execution horrific and said he believed notification procedures were not followed; he said Hasan reported that no legal counsel was present. Survivor Alonzo Lunsford said attending could offer closure to survivors and bereaved families and send a message against such violence.
John Galligan, Defense attorney · our summary of CBC News
John Galligan, Defense attorney · our summary of CBC News
John Galligan, Defense attorney · our summary of CBC News
“One is to give the families of the deceased a chance to close a chapter and also the survivors to close a chapter”
Experts described competing considerations and possible harms: Denno said livestreaming could increase transparency but called for discussion of viewing rules; Semel raised questions about dignity, access and the administration’s aims. Greenberg warned that viewers could become distressed, especially people with pre-existing mental-health problems, and advised people not to watch.
Deborah Denno, Law professor · our summary of Okaz
Deborah Denno, Law professor · our summary of Okaz
Elizabeth Semel, Death penalty law professor · our summary of Okaz
“Instead they are likely to suffer anticipatory anxiety before the ‘trauma’ is shown and some people will then become distressed”
If carried out, the execution would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961 and the first military firing-squad execution since 1945. Army regulations require an execution date to be set 60 to 150 days after approval but do not specify procedures for particular execution methods.
CBC News: Explained military execution procedures and included legal concerns about timing and prisoner notification.
Fox News: Featured a Fort Hood survivor’s reasons for wanting to attend the execution.
RIA Novosti: Provided background on firing squads and the history of military executions.
Yonhap News Agency, BBC News and international outlets: Covered the undecided livestream question, official and church criticism, and human-rights objections.
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Portrait of Nidal Hasan after his promotion to U.S. Army major, May 2009.
File:Nidal Hasan, 2009.jpg · United States Army · Public domain
The National Interest (file)
Creator Original source Original sourcePublic domain
