Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he wants the execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan to be open to the public, potentially making it the first public execution in the United States in nearly 90 years. Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others in a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. President Donald Trump has approved his execution by firing squad for December 3.
The last generally recognized public execution in the U.S. was the 1936 hanging of Rainey Bethea in Kentucky. Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon for additional information. The White House declined to comment and referred inquiries to the Department of Defense (DOD).
John Galligan, a retired colonel and a former military judge who has represented Hasan in civil matters, said Army Regulation 190-55 details approved witnesses at military executions. "Specifically, it directs who is able to be present and that does not include the ‘general public’ — even the media is restricted," Galligan told Newsweek in an email. "No surprise that such an ill-informed statement may have been made." This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.
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