Major Nidal Hasan has been found guilty of all 13 charges of premeditated murder by a military jury, and 32 charges of attempted premeditated murder in the trial concerning the Fort Hood shootings. The verdict means that Hasan could face the lethal injection as punishment for the murders.
Nidal Hasan trial
Hasan infamously chose to represent himself at the murder trial. His defense, which was rested only two days ago, was light on argument and on evidence. Hasan called no witnesses to his defense during the trial, nor did he testify to his own innocence. He did not dispute the case proven by the prosecution.
In comparison, the prosecution put in the work on this trial, calling in close to 90 witnesses in a period of 11 days. The prosecution also presented forensic evidence that linked Hasan to the trial, and testimony about the mental state of the soldier, and his Islamist and Jihadist tendencies.
Hasan’s passive defense expedited the decision from the jury. With no formal defense mounted, the jury had little choice but to convict him on all counts.
Fort Hood shooting
Back in November 2009 Nidal Hasan shot and killed 13 people at the military installation Fort Hood, near the town of Killeen in Texas. The Fort Hood shooting also injured more than 30 people. Hasan is a United States Army Medical Corps Major, who was serving as a psychiatrist at the Fort Hood base when he carried out the attack.
Hasan must now wait for sentencing with life in prison a likely outcome, and death by lethal injection a possibility. The U.S. Army has not actually executed a soldier since 1955, marginalizing the chances of such a sentence. The Army does retain the right to execute soldiers, however, and murder is one of the most common crimes that resulted in a military death sentence in more recent times.
