The Pentagon is asking the President to approve the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army officer who committed the terrible shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, back in 2009.
Hasan, who was an Army doctor, was found guilty of killing 13 people and hurting 32 others.
During the trial, Hasan said he did it to protect the “Islamic Empire” from the U.S. military.
Some people felt the government was wrong to call it just “workplace violence,” saying it was really an act of terrorism.
A military court decided in 2013 that Hasan should be put to death for what he did.
Now, after many years of waiting and going through the courts, the military is ready to carry out that sentence. The last time the U.S. military executed someone was over 60 years ago.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he is fully committed to making sure Hasan is executed. He believes Hasan deserves the strongest punishment for his crime, and the victims and their families deserve justice without any more delays.
Hasan is one of only a few people waiting to be executed by the military.
Before the shooting, Hasan had been in the Army for almost 20 years. Reports say he started to believe in radical Islamic ideas and didn’t agree with the U.S. military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He even said suicide bombings were okay during war.
