FORT HOOD, TEXAS / RankWire.AI / – The U.S. Army has designated December 3, 2026, as the date for the execution of former Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The execution by firing squad is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central Time at Fort Hood. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle verified the details, including the date, location, and method, in an official memo. Hasan was sentenced to death for the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, which resulted in 13 fatalities and 32 injuries at the Texas military base.
The decision to proceed with Hasan’s execution was authorized by President Donald Trump following a recommendation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Under military law, presidential approval is required before the armed forces can execute a death sentence. This upcoming execution will end a 65-year hiatus in U.S. military executions, the last of which took place in 1961 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Historically, the Army hanged Private John Bennett after his conviction for rape and attempted murder under military jurisdiction.
At the time of the attack, Hasan served as an Army psychiatrist. The Fort Hood shooting occurred on November 5, 2009, when he opened fire inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where service members prepare for deployment. The assault resulted in the deaths of 12 active-duty personnel and one retired soldier. In 2013, a military panel convicted Hasan on 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. The court-martial also mandated his dismissal from the military and the forfeiture of his pay and allowances.
Legal battles span over a decade before the execution order
Hasan spent more than ten years challenging his conviction and sentence through military appeals. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces upheld his convictions and death sentence in March 2024. Subsequently, he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied his petition on March 31, 2025. This ruling solidified the military court’s decision and ended Hasan’s pursuit of review by the highest court in the country.
The execution will take place at Fort Hood, the same site where Hasan carried out the mass shooting. During the incident, police officers shot him, leaving him with partial paralysis. He now depends on a wheelchair. During his court-martial, Hasan admitted to executing the attack, stating that his motive was to prevent U.S. troops from deploying to Afghanistan and fighting Muslims. His confession was recorded as part of the official court record.
The firing squad order highlights rare military capital punishment
The U.S. military has not carried out an execution since April 13, 1961. The process for military death sentences involves multiple levels of mandatory review before execution can be authorized. Hasan’s case progressed through these legal stages until President Trump approved the use of a firing squad as the method of execution. The military has now officially scheduled the sentence after extensive legal review, marking the first time in generations that a firing squad will be used in a U.S. military execution.
His execution remains set for December 3 at 1 p.m. Central Time at Fort Hood. The Army established the specifics of the method, location, and timing after years of legal proceedings stemming from the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. The Supreme Court declined to review the case further in 2025. The upcoming firing squad execution would be the first military execution in more than sixty years, representing a historic moment for U.S. military justice.