In case you missed it, last week Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist who murdered 13 people and wounded 32 more in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood.
Hegseth said Nadal will be executed by firing squad on December 3 — “as it should be,” Hegseth added — with that execution available for live viewing online, marking the first public execution in the United States since 1936. The plan drew instant response, most of it negative. Pope Leo denounced the idea, and the death penalty generally, calling the death penalty “inadmissible” in all circumstances. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the plan “beyond disgusting,” while Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona compared it to something Americans expect to see from the Taliban, not from their own government.
Add Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Hot Springs) to the chorus of voices opposed to the idea. In a press release on Monday, Westerman called on President Trump to cancel any plans for a public execution of Nadal.
While he supports Hasan’s execution, Westerman said, “a public execution is not in the best interest of the United States or our justice system, which, for 250 years, has been marked by dignity and great respect around the world.”
“Hassan’s [sic] goal was to become a martyr,” Westerman said. “The last thing we should be doing is offering him the public platform to become one and handing propaganda to the very authoritarian regimes we oppose.”
Trump has so far said he’s in favor of the public execution, though he’s wavered a bit in recent days.
Westerman’s full press release is below:
WASHINGTON – Following Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s decision to publicize the execution of Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Hasan, Congressman Westerman (AR-04) issued the following statement:
“What happened in Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, was horrific. Thirteen innocent lives were lost in an act of jihadist extremism by Nidal Hasan, a man seeking to become a martyr. His actions certainly demand the fullest weight of the justice system to be brought upon him, and I support him getting the death sentence he was given.
“However, a public execution is not in the best interest of the United States or our justice system, which, for 250 years, has been marked by dignity and great respect around the world. Hassan’s goal was to become a martyr. The last thing we should be doing is offering him the public platform to become one and handing propaganda to the very authoritarian regimes we oppose.
“I strongly urge President Trump to call an end to this decision that would undermine our system of justice and bolster Islamic extremism. We must always remember the principles our nation was built upon. Turning death, no matter how warranted, into public spectacle is not the answer.”