Should Maj. Hasan Be Executed?

Posted By Kevin Tracy at 7:20 pm on November 9, 2009

US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan (pictured as a captain) is responding to questions and talking in his hospital bed, although he is still in critical condition.

Needless to say, US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan violated a lot more than just the Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) when he fired upon soldiers in Fort Hood, killing 13 and wounding many more. So here’s the question I would like to discuss? Should Major Nidal Malik Hasan be executed for his crime?

It may seem like a “No Brainer” at first glance; Major Hasan killed unarmed American Soldiers about to deploy to a war zone – hang the guy!

Well, it might be more controversial than that. You see, while the UCMJ allows a court-marshal to sentence someone to death, they haven’t actually executed anyone since 1961, a full 48 years ago. By the time the military, FBI, local law enforcement, and Congress are finished investigating Hasan and his crime, it will likely be well over 50 years (half a century!) between this execution and the last.

So when I ask “Should Major Hasan Be Executed?,” I really mean to ask if the military should be phasing executions back into practice for heinous crimes? Keep in mind that if Major Hasan is executed and capital punishment is brought back, every American wearing the Uniform in a war zone will have to worry about possibly being executed for committing a war crime in the fog of war. The controversial Haditha incident where US Soldiers shot and killed 24 Iraqi men, women, and children after an attack on their patrol are a prime example of that.

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Should American troops be worried about capital punishment for their actions in the fog of war? If not, then the 50 year absence of the death penalty in the US Military will have to continue and Major Nidal Malik Hasan can not be put to death for his rampage at Fort Hood that will forever leave us without 13 of our brave national heroes.

Please take a moment to vote in this poll and leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Comments (10)

10 Comments »

Comment by Travis Gearhart on November 9, 2009

Interesting…I still think yes, though, because this is little different take. Granted, there are other war crimes, however shooting up your own army men, in a premeditated act of violence is, I think, more severe than the vengence noted in your post. Good points, though. Definately a thinker.

Comment by briand on November 9, 2009

“Should American troops be worried about capital punishment for their actions in the fog of war?” Well they should certainly worry about punishment for their actions. They should be and are held accountable and it is good for them to know that actions like Haditha will be prosecuted. Will knowing that they could be executed stop things like this any more than going to prison the rest of their lives? I don’t think so. I think they snap or justify their actions and hope not to be caught. Will it make them reluctant to follow duty or make them question actions more? It could and probably should. Aside from all that I cannot believe that our bases have vast areas where no guns are allowed. These men who have professional fire arms training were rendered sitting ducks by this rule.

Comment by Aaron on November 9, 2009

I hadn’t even considered what could happen to troops in the field. I can see troops being sacrificed for the benefit of politicians or political correctness.

Kevin what was the final result of the haditha issue?

Comment by Chris on November 9, 2009

The J in UCMJ stands for Justice. There are crimes so heinous where death is the only means of obtaining justice. When they put on that uniform, they should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one.

Comment by Tom on November 10, 2009

Kevin, your attention to detail and ability to ponder such complex shit, especially when things may seem like a no brainer always shocks me. This is such an interesting question yet I doubt anyone in the media will ask it. You should consider law school. abstract shit is your thing man! Sorry for the swearing I’m all hopped on the coffee.

Comment by kevintracy on November 10, 2009

haha, Thanks Tom.
Comment by Matthew Rhodes on November 10, 2009

Interesting, I wonder how many of those people who voted yes have served in the military.

Comment by daltonsbriefs on November 10, 2009

Well asked Kevin.
In radical islam-world our hanging of an islamic radical will also give them more to use for hate talk. Life imprisonment would seem to be better for national defense. Now maybe you can tell us Kevin where in the world we could send him for the rest of his life, perhaps Guantanamo (no the president wants to shut that down) or one of the black op prisons overseas?

Comment by kevintracy on November 11, 2009

I should have made that a requirement before commenting to ensure people knew where these opinions were coming from. I’d be curious to see if there was a difference in points of view on he issue between veterans and life-long civilians.

Comment by Wickle on November 13, 2009

I’m a lifelong civilian, I admit it. Air Force brat, but civilian.

I voted “No” mainly because I’m against capital punishment. However, I think it’s also worth noting that he hasn’t been tried yet. Last I knew, we allowed people in this country to make their defense before we sentenced them to death for being criminals and Muslim. There are other possible considerations, not the least of which being his potential psychopathy.

If Hasan wasn’t a Muslim, then the story would be that this guy, believed by his mental-health-professional peers to be unstable, was able to buy handguns and sneak them onto a military facility.

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Should Maj. Hasan Be Executed?

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