Fort Hood attacker's execution by firing squad will be livestreamed, Pentagon says

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesBySareen Habeshian Updated 32 minutes agoThe public will be able to watch the execution of a former US Army major by firing squad, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.

• Fort Hood attacker to be executed by firing squad - a first for US military since World War TwoPublished1 day ago.
• What Americans think about the death penaltyPublished1 hour ago.

Eu vi quase 500 execuções - mas nunca uma como a de Christa Pike. Publicado há 6 dias.

Um oficial do Departamento de Defesa disse à BBC que a execução de Nidal Hasan, que matou 13 soldados não armados dos US no Fort Hood em 2009, seria transmitida ao vivo.

The Pentagon had announced earlier this week that it would execute Hasan in the first military execution in more than 60 years.

We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public," Hegseth said on Thursday. "Because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things.

Image source, Bell County Sheriff's Office/ReutersImage caption, An undated handout image of Hasan that was released by authorities in 2012.

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment on whether President Donald Trump supports a livestreamed public execution.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell had said on Monday that the defence secretary had made the recommendation and Trump approved it.

A execução está marcada para ocorrer em Fort Hood, no Texas, em 3 de dezembro, disse na terça-feira o secretário do US Army. Será a primeira execução militar por esquadrão de fuzil desde o fim da World War Two.

Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted in court that he was the gunman in the deadliest ever non-combat attack on an American military base.

The shooting on 5 November 2009 took place in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers were awaiting check-ups and vaccines.

At court Hasan apologised for "any mistakes". He said during his court martial in 2013 that he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Não há precedente da era moderna para ter uma execução pública, disse John Mills, advogado que trabalha com presos condenados à pena de morte.

It looks to me designed to be a grotesque spectacle," he said. "It's an unprecedented decision in the modern era, and so it is on uncertain legal terrain," he added.

Uma execução militar requer aprovação do presidente dos EUA, segundo a lei militar. Também exige revisão de apelação, na qual um tribunal superior examina a decisão, e um julgamento final sobre sua legalidade para prosseguir.

The appellate process for Hasan is not over, Mills said, and he is likely to seek review of his conviction and sentence in federal court, which would likely stay the execution.

As such, Mills said that he would be surprised if the execution happened.

Buscando torná-lo ao vivo, uma execução por esquadrão de fuzil, não é mais do que busca de atenção da administração Trump e é improvável que aconteça, muito menos entregar qualquer semblante de justiça," ele acrescentou.

Certain states require some form of public viewing of executions. Many states require journalists to be present, and the person due to be executed can invite people.

Others also allow ordinary citizens to volunteer as witnesses.

Mas “there hasn't ever been a livestreamed execution”, diz Deborah Denno, professora de direito da Fordham University, que estudou métodos de execução nos EUA.

A livestreamed execution would "force a level of transparency that we have probably never seen before in this country", she says.

More than half of the country wants the death penalty - even though that's on the decline - an argument could be made that 'if you want the death penalty, then we are going to show you how it's conducted in this country.

And people would have to realise exactly what's happening in a way that many people ignore.

Denno diz que há considerações importantes para uma transmissão ao vivo, como se ela seria redirecionada por faixa etária e se violaria as políticas da plataforma online que hospeda a exibição.

It is unclear where the livestream will be available.

The last military execution took place in 1961, when a US Army private was hanged after being convicted of raping an 11-year-old Austrian girl. The execution was authorised by then-President Dwight D Eisenhower and took place despite the victim's family asking his successor, John F Kennedy, for clemency.

The last military execution by firing squad took place in January 1945, when a young US Army deserter, Eddie Slovik, was shot during the final months of the World War Two.

Embora Trump nunca tenha defendido publicamente uma execução pública, ele tem apoiado a pena de morte há muito tempo. Em 1989, por exemplo, ele publicou anúncios de grande porte no The New York Times pedindo a execução dos Central Park Five — que haviam sido condenados por acusações de estupro e agressão, mas foram posteriormente exonerados.

The US government had not executed anyone for 17 years until the final year of Trump's first term as president, when the government conducted a flurry of 13 executions.

Upon returning to office last January, Trump swiftly overturned predecessor Joe Biden's moratorium on federal executions and signed an executive order aimed at "restoring" the death penalty and "protecting public safety.

With additional reporting by Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu.

Atacante de Fort Hood será executado por esquadrão de fuzilamento - primeira vez para o exército dos EUA desde a Segunda Guerra Mundial.

The Americans volunteering to watch executions.