Trump approves firing-squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan

US President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of former Army Major Nidal Hasan, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

Hasan was convicted by a military jury in 2013 after killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others during the attack at the US Army base.

Trump approved the execution following a recommendation from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The decision allows the military justice process to move towards carrying out Hasan’s death sentence, although further legal proceedings could still delay the execution.

Army secretary to determine execution date

The US Army secretary will determine when and where the execution will take place.

No execution date had been announced in the latest reporting.

Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, represented himself during his 2013 court-martial and acknowledged carrying out the attack.

He said during the proceedings that he acted because he opposed US military operations involving Muslim countries.

Execution would be historically rare

If carried out, Hasan’s execution would become the first military execution in the United States since 1961.

It would also be the first firing-squad execution carried out by the US military since 1945, according to Reuters.

The case could still face challenges in federal court before an execution takes place.

AP noted that a previous military execution approved by President George W. Bush in 2008 was subsequently halted by a judge.

Hasan is among a small number of prisoners currently held on US military death row.