Trump approves Nidal Hasan firing squad execution: When was it last used in US and how does it happen?

President Donald Trump has approved the execution of former US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad, potentially bringing back a method of military execution that has not been used by the US armed forces since the World War II era.

The Pentagon announced the decision on Monday after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended that Hasan be executed by firing squad.

The Secretary of the Army will determine the time and place of the execution. Hasan's execution has not yet taken place.

Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 after being convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for the November 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

The attack killed 13 people and wounded 32 others.

When was the last US military execution?

The last execution carried out by the US military was in 1961, when Army Pvt. John A Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Bennett was executed on April 13, 1961, after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.

The US Army itself identifies Bennett as the last service member executed by the military. The Death Penalty Information Center also records 1961 as the last year in which the US military carried out an execution.

If Hasan is put to death, it would therefore mark the first US military execution since 1961, more than six decades after Bennett's hanging. But Bennett was not executed by firing squad.

When was the last US military firing-squad execution?

The history of firing-squad executions in the US military goes back to World War II.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the apparent last known US military execution by firing squad was carried out "by musketry" in November 1945.

Its historical records, compiled from military and National Archives material, identify Army prisoner Dan J Lee as having been executed by musketry on November 9, 1945.

The historical record also includes other US military executions by shooting during the World War II period.

US Army Pvt. Eddie Slovik, for example, was executed by firing squad in France on January 31, 1945, after being convicted of desertion.

The Death Penalty Information Center's records list Slovik's method of execution as ‘shot’.

Because the historical military records contain several executions by shooting during 1945, the most accurate formulation is that the apparent last known US military firing-squad execution took place in November 1945, rather than describing a single case as definitively the last without qualification.

That means Hasan's execution, if carried out by firing squad, would be the first US military firing-squad execution in more than 80 years.

How does a firing-squad execution happen?

A firing-squad execution involves a group of shooters firing rifles at a condemned prisoner. The precise procedure depends on the authority carrying out the execution.

The modern US military's published execution regulations are primarily written around lethal injection, and the Army regulation currently available publicly does not provide a modern firing-squad procedure.

However, it does establish the chain of responsibility for a military execution. The President must approve and order the execution, while the Secretary of the Army approves the execution location and sets the date.

Historical US military firing-squad executions involved soldiers or other designated shooters using rifles. In the case of Eddie Slovik, for example, the Army executed him by firing squad in France in 1945.

A more recent example of the method comes from state executions, rather than the military. South Carolina has authorised firing squads since 2021, and its procedure involves three shooters firing rifles at a condemned prisoner.

However, that state procedure should not be presented as the confirmed procedure that will be used for Hasan, because the Army's arrangements for his potential execution have not been publicly detailed.

Why is Hasan's case significant?

Hasan's case is significant because military executions are exceptionally rare in the United States.

The US military has carried out no executions since Bennett's hanging in 1961. Hasan's death sentence dates back to his 2013 court-martial conviction, and the case has remained within the military justice system since then.

Under the military justice system, a death sentence cannot be carried out without presidential approval.

The Army's regulations state that only the President can approve and order the execution of a military death sentence. Once the President approves, the Secretary of the Army handles the execution arrangements, including the location and date.

Trump's approval therefore represents a major procedural step, but it does not mean Hasan will be executed immediately.

The date and location of the execution still have to be set, and further legal proceedings could affect when or whether the sentence is carried out.