The United States plans to broadcast the execution by firing squad of former American serviceman Nidal Malik Hasan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 fellow soldiers at a military base in Texas in 2009. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has confirmed that the execution will be open to the public and is scheduled for December 3.
Hegseth had previously insisted that the convicted killer’s death sentence should be carried out publicly. He argued that allowing people to witness the execution would demonstrate the severe consequences of such crimes. However, his initial announcement offered no explanation of how the public would be able to watch.
CBS later reported that the shooting would be broadcast live. Hegseth confirmed the network’s account on X by reposting its report and endorsing the information.
The execution will mark the first time in more than half a century that an American military member has been put to death by firing squad. Hasan received the death penalty for the mass killing at the Texas military installation 17 years ago.
While executions by firing squad have not been carried out against US military personnel for decades, civilian courts have repeatedly imposed this form of capital punishment.
Representatives of the Death Penalty Information Center previously told RIA Novosti that the method had been used numerous times under the civilian justice system, most recently in 2025.
The organization also highlighted differences in how reliably various execution methods have been carried out. According to its figures, firing squads have a zero percent failure rate, with no botched executions recorded. By contrast, dozens of hangings and executions using lethal gas have gone wrong, failing to proceed as intended.