Entertainment
Pete Hegseth says the public will be able to watch the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter
An official says the execution of Nidal Hasan will be livestreamed. It would be the first public execution in the U.S. in more than 90 years.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says Americans will be able to watch the execution of Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan.
Speaking Thursday on Real America's Voice, Hegseth addressed President Trump's decision to approve a firing squad for the former Army major. "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it and that it's public," he said.
A department official said the execution will be streamed live. Hegseth did not give further details.
A rare spectacle
The United States has not held a public execution in more than 90 years. A military jury condemned Hasan for the 2009 attack at the Texas base that left 13 dead and over 30 injured.
The armed forces last carried out a death sentence in 1961, hanging Army Pvt. John Bennett in Kansas. The last soldier put to death by firing squad was Pvt. Eddie Slovik, executed in 1945 after deserting during World War II.
The backdrop
The announcement comes days after Tennessee botched its lethal injection of Christa Pike. Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital and was rushed to a hospital, setting off a national debate over execution methods.
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