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One of the survivors of the Fort Hood mass shooting in Texas nearly 17 years ago finds the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the firing squad execution of the perpetrator questionable.
Nidal Hasan, 56, is set to be executed at Fort Hood at 1 p.m. local time on Dec. 3 — around the same time he committed the shooting on Nov. 5, 2009. Hasan was a U.S. Army major and psychiatrist at the time.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed Thursday the execution will be made public before a War Department official confirmed the event will be livestreamed for the world to watch. Since then, many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and others have expressed their outrage over the news.
Alonzo Lunsford, a former U.S. Army sergeant whom Hasan shot seven times, mildly disagreed with the planned livestream because he says the death penalty is “not something you should view for entertainment purposes.”
Hasan is set to be executed by U.S. soldiers armed with rifles at the place he carried out the shooting, according to Hegseth.
In a Friday interview with BBC Radio 4, Lunsford indicated he agrees with the execution itself but noted he holds reservations about turning it into a public spectacle.
“To show the whole thing without it being censored for the general public, for me personally, I don’t agree with that, but it’s not about my personal belief,” Lunsford said, noting he will personally be at Fort Hood to watch Hasan’s execution.
“I’m gonna be there [to watch in person] and before they pull the trigger, I want him to look at me in my eyes and I look at him in his eyes and I want him to know: ‘Dude you failed, I’m still here,'” he said.
Lunsford went on to explain how he doesn’t have any sympathy for Hasan in terms of the execution method because Hasan “didn’t have that same compassion when he did the deed” in November 2009. The former sergeant said the firing squad execution method is “befitting,” adding that a lethal injection or the gas chamber would be “doing him a favor.”
The survivor noted his Christian faith has allowed him to forgive Hasan for committing the shooting, and he believes the death-row inmate should ask for forgiveness before he dies.
CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONDEMN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S PLAN TO LIVESTREAM EXECUTION OF FORT HOOD SHOOTER
In the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, 13 people were killed and 32 others, including Lunsford, were wounded. During the attack, Hasan was shot by a civilian police officer and left partially paralyzed.
The Pentagon has provided no details about where the execution will be broadcast yet, but many groups, including the United Nations and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, are already voicing their opposition for ethical or moral reasons. It remains to be seen if the planned livestream will be challenged in court. As of now, the event is set to be the first U.S. military execution since 1961, the first execution by firing squad since World War II, and the first public execution since 1936.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
