Tagesschau Ausland1 hour agoDefense2 min readGermany

USA wants to live stream execution of assassin

Quick Look

The USA is planning the first military execution in over 60 years: the assassin Nidal Hasan is to be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood on December 3rd, with the execution being broadcast publicly via livestream.
Defense Minister Pete Hegseth confirmed the plans to dpa and said people should be able to watch.
The execution has reignited debate over the death penalty in the US, particularly after a failed execution attempt in Tennessee.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The last military execution in the United States took place in 1945, and the last generally public execution took place in Kentucky in 1936. Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 for the 2009 Fort Hood attack, in which he killed 13 people and injured 32. Trump recently authorized the execution after a failed execution attempt in Tennessee.

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The shooting of an assassin sentenced to death is to be broadcast via live stream. An official from the Pentagon confirmed this to the dpa news agency.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously said that the execution by firing squad of a former US Army psychiatrist, approved by President Donald Trump, should take place in public. In an interview with a right-wing influencer, he said there would be a firing squad and they would make sure people could watch.

First military execution in more than 60 years

If the execution actually takes place, according to US media, it would be the first military execution in the USA in more than 60 years. It is scheduled for December 3rd at the Fort Hood military base in Texas.

Nidal Hasan opened fire on soldiers there in 2009, killing 13 people. 32 other people were injured. The attacker then explained that he had retaliated for the US wars in the Muslim world. The then military psychiatrist was sentenced to death by a military court in 2013.

Death penalty debate reignited in the US

Trump only recently approved the execution - a few days after an execution attempt failed in the US state of Tennessee. According to authorities, Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder, was given two doses of the drug pentobarbital, but she continued to live. The case has reignited the debate about the death penalty in the United States.

Public shootings were used as a deterrent in the USA, including during the American Civil War in the 19th century. The last execution by a US military firing squad took place in 1945. The last public execution in the United States was in 1936, when a man was hanged in the state of Kentucky in front of thousands of onlookers.

If the United States does carry out a public execution again, it would bring it closer to states whose practices it denounces elsewhere. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, at least 17 public executions took place last year: six in Afghanistan and eleven in Iran.

With information from Nina Barth, ARD Studio Washington

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

The public execution of Nidal Hasan will take place as planned on December 3rd.
Likely · Within weeks
The livestreaming of the execution will result in significant international criticism.
Very likely · Within days

Open Questions

Will the livestream broadcast actually take place or just promised?
How will the public react to the livestreamed execution?
Will there be legal challenges to public execution?
How are international partners reacting to the planned public execution?