It's been 65 years since the U.S. Army last carried out an execution, when Pvt. John Bennett was hanged after being found guilty for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl. It's been even longer since a military execution by firing squad has taken place; that last occurred on November 9, 1945, when Pvt. Dan Lee was executed in the Philippines after being convicted of murder and rape.
To put things in context, John F. Kennedy had been president only a few months when the military last performed an execution. The Berlin Wall had yet to be built, the Beatles hadn't yet released their first single, and the Cuban Missile Crisis was still more than a year away.
It's been a while.
That long gap, however, wasn't because the military stopped imposing death sentences. These cases are subject to a lengthy process of mandatory appeals, and military executions cannot be carried out without presidential approval. A recent Army Lawyer review goes through in detail just how complicated the military judicial process has become.
Which brings us to Nidal Hasan.
President Trump, it seems, is ready to put an end to that 65-year streak. And soon.
As RedState's Kyle Becker reported on Monday, the president and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have approved death by firing squad for Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army major who was convicted in 2013 of murdering 13 people and attempting to murder 32 others during the 2009 Fort Hood terrorist attack.
Five days after being convicted, Hasan was sentenced to death and has been on death row in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, ever since.
Thirteen years later, his death sentence is being carried out. Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad on December 3 at Fort Hood, the site of his bloody massacre.
Mass murderer Nidal Hasan set for Dec. 3 execution by firing squad at Fort Hood, email states https://t.co/qzNyGr9acM
— CBS News Texas (@CBSNewsTexas) October 6, 2026
Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle confirmed the details in a Tuesday memo, revealing also that the execution will be carried at precisely 1 PM CT and will be overseen by the commandant of the U.S. Military Barracks.
The execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad will take place at Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday, December 3rd, 2026, at 1 p.m. CT. https://t.co/re7BpqkSN4
— Acting Secretary of the Army (@SecArmy) October 7, 2026
CBS News has reported that the families of Hasan's victims were first notified of the execution details via email. Family members of those killed, along with survivors of Hasan’s attack, have also been invited to witness the execution.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said earlier this week of Hasan's fate, "Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009."
He continued, "He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack. The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come."
Secretary Hegseth was much more succinct in his reaction, responding to Parnell with just one word: "JUSTICE."
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