Veteran shot 7 times in Fort Hood massacre has a warning for Americans planning to watch execution

Army Plans Public Firing Squad Execution of Fort Hood Convict, Igniting Debate Over Livestream

FORT HOOD, Texas — The United States Army has announced plans to carry out the death sentence of Nidal Hasan via firing squad at Fort Hood on Dec. 3, 2026. While the sentence itself commands broad support among lawmakers and religious leaders, a complicating factor has emerged: the government intends to make the execution available to the public through a live stream. The move marks the first time an American Army service member has been executed by firing squad in 86 years, and it has sparked intense scrutiny over whether broadcasting such an act serves justice or dishonors the victims.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at the time, is serving his sentence following a rampage on Nov. 5, 2009, at the post's Soldier Readiness Processing Center. During the attack, he opened fire on his colleagues, killing 13 and injuring 32. The incident remains one of the deadliest acts of violence on a U.S. military installation. Hasan himself was wounded during the attack and is currently paralyzed from the waist down. After more than a decade of legal proceedings, including a 2013 court-martial, the military has moved to finalize the execution.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended the decision to allow public viewing, arguing that transparency serves a necessary educational purpose. In an interview this week, Hegseth stated that officials would ensure the public could watch, noting that "people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."

However, not all senior officials have embraced the plan. Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Friday that he had no intention of watching the proceedings and cast doubt on whether the broadcast would occur as announced. "I see these announcements. I don't know that that's actually going to happen," Vance said.

Criticism of the livestream plan has come from unexpected corners, including conservatives who otherwise favor capital punishment. Representative Austin Scott of Georgia expressed support for the death sentence but opposed the method of broadcasting it. On social media, Scott wrote that "live-streaming executions is what jihadists do" and that "America is better than that." Similarly, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, while agreeing Hasan "should face the death penalty," described the idea of a public stream as "beyond disgusting," noting that public executions are characteristic of oppressive regimes like Iran and Afghanistan rather than the United States.

The leadership of the Catholic Church in the U.S. has taken an even broader stance, opposing both the execution and its public nature. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Friday that while Hasan's actions could in no way be condoned, the decision to execute publicly amounts to "a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered." Coakley warned that the public execution of even a person who has caused grave harm would "undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people."

Beyond the ethical debate, the broadcast raised immediate concerns among national security experts. Matthew Levitt, a former Treasury counterterrorism official and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute, cautioned that footage of the killing could be weaponized by extremist groups. Hasan has previously spoken about becoming a martyr, and Levitt argued that releasing the event online would provide material terrorist organizations could splice into radicalization propaganda.

"There's no tangible benefit to live streaming an execution, and it may, in fact, exacerbate the terrorist threat," Levitt said.

For Alonzo Lunsford, the choice of an execution method is secondary to a more personal need for accountability. Lunsford, a former Army staff sergeant, was at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center when the shooting began. He was struck seven times, including a wound above his left eye, and played dead on the floor before escaping outside, where Hasan fired at him a second time. He is one of the 32 wounded survivors from the 2009 attack.

Despite the physical and emotional toll, Lunsford said he supports the execution and plans to attend. He told reporters he would prefer that one of Hasan's surviving victims or a family member of the deceased fire the weapon. Yet, he emphasized a distinction that many have struggled to reconcile: forgiveness and exoneration are not the same.

"The weird thing about it, I've forgiven him because my faith does not allow me to heal and continue unless I forgive that man," Lunsford said. He has since turned his focus toward coaching basketball, mentoring youth, and assisting others managing mental health challenges.

Lunsford's support for the sentence, however, does not extend to making the event a public spectacle. He described the sensory reality of a killing in stark terms, telling reporters that "there's nothing glorified in the smell of human flesh, blood and gunpowder."

"That's not something you sit around and say, hey, let's get some popcorn and look at this execution," Lunsford said. "We as a people, we're better than that. This ain't no country where we do public beheadings and stonings and think it's fine."

He specifically urged parents against sharing the broadcast with children and warned against treating the event like a casual gathering. "This is not somewhere you all start throwing some meat on the grill, get outside and say, hey, we're gonna watch them unalive this guy by firing squad," he said. "Don't do that because when you do that, you're dishonoring those that made the supreme sacrifice, those who are no longer here. Those are heroes."

For Lunsford, the upcoming meeting in December is about closure and truth. He recalled locking eyes with Hasan during the 2013 court-martial and wants to confront the killer face-to-face once more. "I want to look at him in his eyes. I want him to see me — man to man," Lunsford said. "My message to him: Dude, you failed."

Reflecting on the life Hasan took away versus the life Lunsford still leads, the survivor noted the contrast in freedom between the two men. "I go where I wanna go, when I wanna go, how I wanna go. With no fear," Lunsford said. "I can go outside and just smell and listen to nature. You don't have that luxury."

As the Army prepares for the execution, the debate continues over how the nation should mark the end of one of the military's most somber legal chapters. For Lunsford, the focus remains on the human cost rather than the procedure. He said he accepts the pain of the attack will remain with him permanently, but he expressed a final hope for the condemned man's last moments.

"I want to give him the opportunity to, the last words out of his mouth is to apologize and repent," Lunsford said. "And be held accountable for his sins and for his crime. And I will be OK with that."