Shooting rampage at Fort Hood

[The Bread Guy]

A quick update....

Accused Fort Hood shooting spree gunman Major Nidal Hasan asked a U.S. military judge on Wednesday for permission to fire his court-appointed lawyers and represent himself at his court martial, a Fort Hood spokesman said.

The judge, Colonel Tara Osborn, will consider Hasan's request at a hearing next week. Jury selection, which had been scheduled to begin next week, has been pushed back to June 5, the spokesman said.

(....)

Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Addicott, a former legal adviser to the Army Special Forces and now a law professor at St. Mary's University in Austin, Texas, said the request was not surprising given that Hasan previously fired civilian lawyers.

Hasan has the right to represent himself, but Osborn can, and probably will, insist that his military attorney, Lieutenant Colonel Kris Poppe remain at the defense table to provide legal advice.

"If he doesn't want to listen to his lawyer, he doesn't have to listen to his lawyer," Addicott said. "But he will not be as competent in raising any type of defense that would have any positive effect on the outcome of his trial." ....

Reuters, 22 May 13

 

[The Bread Guy]

Be careful what you wish for ....

The Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage will represent himself at his upcoming murder trial, meaning he will question the more than two dozen soldiers he’s accused of wounding, a military judge ruled Monday.

Maj. Nidal Hasan’s attorneys will remain on the case but only if he asks for their help, the judge said. Hasan, 42, faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

After questioning Hasan for about an hour, the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, ruled that Hasan was mentally competent to represent himself and understands “the disadvantage of self-representation.” She repeatedly urged him to reconsider his request, noting that the lead prosecutor has more than 20 years of experience and that Hasan will be held to the same standards as all attorneys regarding courtroom rules and military law.

“You’ve made that quite clear,” Hasan said after the judge asked if he understood that representing himself was not “a good idea.” ....

Army Times, 3 Jun 13

 

[The Bread Guy]

The Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage will finally enter a plea (today), just a week before jury selection begins in his court-martial.

Maj. Nidal Hasan is expected to plead not guilty. In military cases, a defendant is not asked to enter a plea until right before the trial is to start.

Hasan, 42, faces execution or life without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the massacre on the Texas Army post.

Under military law, a death penalty case requires a plea of not guilty ....

Army Times, 2 Jul 13

 

[krustyrl]

US Maj Nidal Hasan is currently in his Court Proceedings. I wish this would have detailed coverage like the Trayvon Martin case recently. 

 

[Inquisitor]

You might want to try a periodic google as I just did anything current will be on cnn.com and foxnews,com

Fort Hood shooting: Nidal Hasan says he was the gunman
linkhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23584265

 

[krustyrl]

You might want to try a periodic google as I just did anything current will be on cnn.com and foxnews,com

Fort Hood shooting: Nidal Hasan says he was the gunman
linkhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23584265

Thanks.   

 

[tomahawk6]

US Maj Nidal Hasan is currently in his Court Proceedings. I wish this would have detailed coverage like the Trayvon Martin case recently.

Not when the powers that be cannot call the shooting an act of terror.

 

[cupper]

Apparently the two lawyers appointed to assist Hassan in his own defense came to the conclusion that Hassan is attempting suicide by court marshall.

They feel that he is deliberately setting his defense up so that he receives a death sentence, and that they should be allowed not to participate in that action.

Military lawyer says Nidal Hasan is seeking death sentence

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/lawyer-for-nidal-hasan-says-army-psychiatrist-trying-to-be-sentenced-to-death/2013/08/07/c4bb7c44-ff8f-11e2-96a8-d3b921c0924a_story.html?hpid=z3

The court-martial of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of carrying out the 2009 mass shootings at Fort Hood, was suspended Wednesday after a lawyer accused the defendant of deliberately trying to secure a death sentence.

Hasan, who faces 13 counts of murder and 32 of attempted murder, is representing himself at the trial on the same Army post in central Texas where the killings took place.

Hasan twice dismissed his legal team, but he does have three standby defense lawyers on hand to offer him legal advice if he requests it. And Wednesday morning, one of them, Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, offered to step in and represent Hasan.

Poppe told the military judge, Col. Tara Osborn, that it is “clear [Hasan’s] goal is to remove impediments or obstacles to the death penalty and is working toward a death penalty.”

Poppe asked that his own responsibilities be minimized if Hasan insisted on continuing to seek his own execution, saying the defendant was acting in a way that “we believe is repugnant to defense counsel and contrary to our professional obligations,” according to wire reports.

“I object. That’s a twist of the facts,” Hasan responded. He repeatedly asked the judge for permission to explain why Poppe’s claim was wrong, but refused to do so in writing.

Osborn then cleared the courtroom to discuss the matter, and no witnesses will be called for the rest of the day.

At the opening of his court-martial Tuesday, Hasan, who worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 2003 to 2006, admitted responsibility for the attacks. “The evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter,” he said.

Hasan said he carried out the shootings, which prosecutors said deliberately targeted uniformed personnel and spared civilians, because he believed he was on the wrong side of a war against Islam and wanted to switch sides.

Hasan, a 42-year-old U.S.-born Muslim who is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by an Army police officer during the rampage, appeared to show little interest in defending himself on the first day of his trial.

Hasan has previously sought to plead guilty but is not able to do so under military rules governing cases that carry a potential death penalty. At earlier hearings, the judge also ruled that he could not defend himself by arguing that he was seeking to save the lives of Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.

The court-martial, which is taking place nearly four years after the shootings, has been delayed by lengthy legal arguments and requests from Hasan. He has been allowed to keep his beard, which is against military regulations, after arguing that it was an expression of his Muslim faith.

Executions are rare in the military justice system; the last one was carried out in 1961.

 

[jollyjacktar]

By all means, give the turd what he wants.  :nod:

 

[Kat Stevens]

Yes, by all means create a martyr.  Better to stick him in a deep dark hole for the rest of forever and forget all about him.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Doesn't matter what you do with him.  There will always be someone out there crying for the whaaambulance on his behalf or thinking he's a great big hero...

 

[cupper]

Yes, by all means create a martyr.  Better to stick him in a deep dark hole for the rest of forever and forget all about him.

I agree. Don't give him what he wants. Give him a cell at the ADX Facility in Florence Colorado with his compatriots such as Zacarias Moussaoui, Ramzi Yousef, Richard Reid, Ahmed Ressam.

Detailed list of notable guests at the following link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence

 

[KevinB]

Disagree.
1) Its a Death Sentence issue.
2) Costing wise the firing squad is cheaper -- and I'm a fiscal conservative.

I'd be okay with smothering with a pillow if it saved money on this turd.

 

[George Wallace]

Disagree.
1) Its a Death Sentence issue.
2) Costing wise the firing squad is cheaper -- and I'm a fiscal conservative.

I'd be okay with smothering with a pillow if it saved money on this turd.

I like the idea of smother with a pillow.  That takes away from the real sense of martyrdom......

"Allah.  I was smothered.  Where are my virgins?" 

Allah in Soup Nazi voice:  "No Virgins for you!"

 

[cupper]

See, I don't think the @#$%wad should be allowed to get off that easy.

I'd rather see him locked up in solitary 24/7 begging to die.

A long slow lingering period of time to realize that he has been forsaken by his God for what he did.

 

[OldSolduer]

See, I don't think the @#$%wad should be allowed to get off that easy.

I'd rather see him locked up in solitary 24/7 begging to die.

A long slow lingering period of time to realize that he has been forsaken by his God for what he did.

And shut off from the media.

 

[tomahawk6]

I fully support the death penalty in cases such as this.Unfortunately this is more of a political decision than legal.If he serves a life sentence,he will be a focal point of interesat groups pleading for a Presidential pardon.

 

[Inquisitor]

I imagine it takes  incredible forbearance for the first responders in cases like this  to capture the accused.

I have been reluctant to call this a terrorist attack but reconsider, not just for him but green on blue in general.

These are  turncoats, operating under false colours. Not subject to protection under international law.

In most previous conflicts their fate at best was summary execution. At worst an example to deter  others.

 

[The Bread Guy]

The US Army psychiatrist who shot dead 13 comrades at a Texas Army base in 2009 has been convicted of all charges.

Maj Nidal Hasan faces the death penalty after being found guilty of 13 counts of pre-meditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

Maj Hasan never denied his role in the shooting at Fort Hood and declined to present a defence in his court martial.

Prosecutors said the 42-year-old "had a premeditated design to kill" as many soldiers as he could.

A military jury of 13 reached a unanimous guilty verdict in about seven hours.

Maj Hasan had no visible reaction as the verdict was read.

The jury must come to a unanimous agreement in order to sentence Maj Hasan to death.

BBC News, 23 Aug 13

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Let him sit in his wheelchair, rotting in his cell, until he dies of old age.

Sometimes death is too good for people.