By Patrick F. Cannon
Major Nidal Malik Hasan was convicted by court martial of killing 13 and wounding 32 others in 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas. He is scheduled to be executed on December 3. The Pentagon – you can substitute Secretary of “War” Pete Hegseth for “Pentagon” – has decided the major will die by firing squad, and in public.
If history is any guide, Hasan’s lawyers may seek to delay the execution with a writ of habeas corpus or other legal maneuvering. If not, and the execution takes place as scheduled, there is not a moment to lose in planning for this unique event. The last military execution was in April 1961 at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, the location of the Army’s maximum-security prison. Private John A. Bennett was hanged there for raping and attempting to murder an 11-year-old girl in Austria. Major Hasan is one of four current inhabitants of death row at the fort. Normally, executions would be held there, but in a stroke of genius Hegseth has decided to move it to the scene of the crime, Fort Hood.
The fort covers 340 square miles, so space will not be an issue. As it happens, I’ve been there and can confirm that abundant room exists for the festivities. I see it laid out much like a golf tournament (President Trump can provide expertise here), with plenty of room for grandstands, food and souvenir stands, sponsor hospitality tents and parking. Speaking of sponsors, a title sponsor must be a priority!
There are any number of candidates. Major defense contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics come to mind. Another possibility would be Sig Sauuer, the supplier of the Army’s current standard issue rifle, particularly if the firing squad will use them. In addition to the main title, sponsorships could also be sold to beer, soft drink, fast food, and car companies. I would think Fox would be the logical choice for providing the live television feed to a waiting world.
As to the execution itself, I see a large field surrounded by temporary stands, seating perhaps 25,000 paying customers and Republican donors. At one end of the field there would be a post, to which Major Hasan would be tied. While of course subject to the approval of Secretary Hegseth and President Trump, the officer commanding the firing squad could be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine. Behind the firing squad as official witnesses could be Vice Peesident Vance, the president’s cabinet, the leaders of the Congress and Elon Musk.
The usual traditions and niceties should be upheld. Although smoking is otherwise unacceptable, perhaps the major could be offered one last drag? Or perhaps one last swig of whiskey (I see a sponsorship opportunity here)? And General Caine should certainly offer to blindfold the condemned.
Although there will be only one target, I think the firing squad might consist of six. The soldiers with the highest testosterone levels might be chosen for this honor. Secretary Hegseth sets great store by this gauge of manhood, so this would be one way to reward his manliest warriors.
With six sharpshooters aiming at him, Major Hasan is unlikely to survive the fusillade, but it is traditional for someone to insure death by putting another bullet in the victim’s head. It’s called the “coup de grace,” and I’m sure President Trump would be happy to perform this traditional ritual.
Copyright 2026, Patrick F. Cannon
Public executions were quite common early in our country’s history.
In France they verged on the grotesque (the prolonged butchering of would-be assassin Robert-François Damiens comes to mind).
Even the Catholic Church got into the act. A statue of philosopher Giordano Bruno stands in Rome’s Campo de’ Fiori where he was burned at the stake for heresy.
These spectacles of justice were well-attended. People in those days didn’t have television to get their daily fix of violence.
I have no quarrel wth the death penalty. I did not expect, however, the military would revive a tradition that had fallen out of vogue.
You rightly note the extent of Nidal Hasan’s crimes. We should keep the horror of his terrorist attack in mind: 13 unarmed soldiers murdered, 32 others wounded, ostensibly to stop the attack of Islamic Afghanistan.
In the context of the military’s moral code, they are treasonous crimes of the highest order. So a public military act of justice may be in order.
I am not surprised, however, by the outcry against the execution that we see in the press and among liberals.
Why is it that liberals seem to feel greater sympathy for the perpetrators of crime than its victims? People are murdered on the streets of Chicago every day, yet the murderers, even when they are caught and convicted, are allowed to go free or serve reduced sentences.
Liberals seem to get everything backwards. They condemn police for arresting violators of the law. They protest against capital punishment of the guilty but celebrate abortion of the innocent. They celebrate the October 7 massacre of Jews. They promote, like Cornell University, all manner of sexual indulgence but react with righteous indignation when it becomes public.
They seem to like the appearance of virtue but not accountability.
We may never know why libs are so contrary. They can’t ALL be French!
We do know that they complain a lot.
Is it because of society’s feminization or does our late friend PJ have an insight?
He claimed, in a clearly exasperated mood: “At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child — miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats.”
Whatever the reason, military justice operates on a different plane than civilian justice. A public military execution of a murderous traitor is perfectly fitting. The NYT will mint the news for what it’s worth.
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Liberals only? Even conservatives should be repulsed by this (which the president has said now will not happen). Just because it was once common doesn’t make it right. I don’t oppose the death penalty in this case, bt do oppose makeing a public spectacle of it.
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That’s fine, either way, just so long as justice is done, and I understand the repulsion. Americans are not a vengeful people. We are optimistic that even the worst of humanity can be redeemed. I’m not sure that’s always the case, but there’s no need to pile it on. A touch of modesty and humility is always welcome, traits increasingly rare these days.
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Amen.
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