The Pentagon has announced that Nidal Hasan’s execution will be livestreamed. Hasan killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009 and will be executed by firing squad in December. Source: bbc.co.uk.
What Happened
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the execution would be publicly livestreamed. The Pentagon confirmed the broadcast will be live online.
Hegseth said: ‘People need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.’
Key Facts
- Hasan is a former Fort Hood soldier convicted of killing 13 unarmed soldiers in 2009.
- The execution will be by firing squad, not hanging.
- It will be livestreamed — the first such public execution in nearly a century.
- Public executions in the US last occurred in the 1930s, when a man was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Background: When Were Public Executions Last Seen?
In 1936, Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky. The event drew a crowd of about 20,000.
Many attendees came from far away. Some slept overnight to keep their spots. Others held parties the night before.
Afterward, Kentucky’s governor banned public executions. Most states had already ended capital punishment by then.
A minor hanging in Missouri in 1937 marked the last public execution in the US.
Why It Matters
Public executions are not part of modern American values. Support for the death penalty has dropped from 80% in 1994 to 52% today.
University of Colorado professor Michael Radelet called the livestream plan ‘shocking’. He said it risks turning the death penalty into entertainment.
He added: ‘If it’s livestreamed, the justification for the death penalty becomes entertainment… bring your popcorn, invite your friends.’
Public Reaction and Expert Views
The chair of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops called the plan ‘barbaric’.
UC Berkeley professor Garen Wintemute says public support for violence has declined over decades. He said: ‘A public execution is not who we are. It’s not who we aspire to be as a country.’
Ohio State professor Kurt Gray said many Americans are not cheering for executions. ‘They’re just desensitized — they accept it as part of current politics.’
Political Response
Vice President JD Vance said he’s unsure if the execution will happen. He said: ‘I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen.’ He added: ‘If it’s livestreamed, I’m not going to be watching it.’
President Donald Trump said he ‘absolutely’ supports the livestream. He said: ‘I really don’t care how he goes as long as he goes.’ He also called the death penalty ‘a very worthy way’ of ending Hasan’s life.
What to Watch Next
It’s unclear if the execution will proceed as planned. The Pentagon has not finalized the details.
Public reaction to the livestream may shape future debates on capital punishment in the US.
For more on the case, see our coverage of Fort Hood Shooter to Be Executed by Firing Squad in First Since WWII.
Experts remain divided. The move may reflect political rhetoric, not public support.
While the death penalty is legal in some US states, live-streamed public executions are rare and deeply controversial.
Sources & further reading
AI-generated illustration.
