Legal path seems narrow to challenge livestream of Fort Hood shooter's execution, experts say

The Independent - Oct 9, 2026

Experts believe any effort to challenge the Trump administration’s plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan might rest solely with Hasan

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UN calls US plans to livestream execution 'abhorrent'
Oct 9, 2026
UN calls US plans to livestream execution 'abhorrent'

The United Nations on Friday called U.S. plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the gunman who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, "abhorrent" and said it could be a violation of prohibitions against torture. "These kinds of public executions we've seen in other countries, whether it's Iran or Afghanistan ... can constitute a form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or punishment," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a daily UN briefing in New York. "Showing it live is tantamount ... to it being public, and could be a violation of the prohibition against torture," he said. "A government executing someone in public, or in front of live cameras, frankly, is abhorrent." Hasan is set to become the first person to be executed by U.S. military firing squad since 1945. The execution is scheduled for December 3 at the same sprawling Texas base where Hasan opened fire with a handgun in a medical facility.

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How the US plan to livestream an execution compares with global practice
Oct 9, 2026
How the US plan to livestream an execution compares with global practice

The U.S. military plans to livestream the Dec. 3 execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. If carried out as planned, death penalty experts said it would mark the first known broadcast or livestream of a lawful execution. Executions are generally conducted behind prison walls, and internet platforms and governments have spent years trying to limit the circulation of violent execution footage. Has a lawful execution ever been livestreamed or broadcast to the public before? Death penalty experts consulted by Reuters said they were unaware of any previous lawful execution that had been livestreamed or broadcast to a public audience. Execution footage has occasionally emerged after the event. The hanging of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2006, for example, was seen around the world after official and unofficial recordings circulated online and through broadcasters, though it was not shown live. Broadcasts and livestreams today are common for court proceedings, parliamentary debates and other stat

Outrage over US military plan to livestream firing squad execution
Oct 9, 2026
Outrage over US military plan to livestream firing squad execution

WASHINGTON — Condemnation of the Pentagon's plan to livestream the firing squad execution of a convicted military base mass shooter escalated Friday, with the UN saying it would amount to torture and U.S. lawmakers from both parties slamming the move. Nidal Hasan's execution — which is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, where he gunned down 13 people in 2009 — is set to be the first by U.S. military firing squad since 1945. Senator Thom Tillis, a member of U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican Party, said Hasan should be put to death, but that streaming it would be "beyond disgusting." "Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do," Tillis said. Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said the plan is "disturbing and makes a mockery of our legal system." A Pentagon official told AFP the execution would be streamed live, after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public." Later, Hegseth wrote "Correct" when retweeting a media report abo

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Oct 9, 2026
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