Fort Hood Survivor Backs Firing Squad for Hasan, Questions Livestream

A former U.S. Army sergeant who survived the 2009 Fort Hood massacre has stated his support for executing gunman Nidal Hasan by firing squad, while also voicing concerns about a reported plan to livestream the execution.

Alonzo Lunsford, who sustained seven gunshot wounds during the attack, told the BBC that the firing squad is a fitting method for Hasan. He suggested that alternative methods, such as lethal injection, would be too lenient.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at the time, killed 13 unarmed soldiers and one civilian when he opened fire in a medical building at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009. The Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended, and former President Donald Trump approved, Hasan's execution by Army firing squad on December 3, marking the first military execution since 1961. The execution is reportedly slated to be live-streamed.

Lunsford, however, expressed opposition to broadcasting the execution for public consumption, calling it "not something you should view for entertainment purposes." He specifically disagreed with showing the event "in full and without censorship to the general public."

He indicated that while survivors and victims' families should have the option to view the execution, he feared the potential impact on younger viewers.

"I'm gonna be there [to watch in person] and before they pull the trigger, I want him to look at me in my eyes and I look at him in his eyes and I want him to know: 'Dude you failed, I'm still here,'" Lunsford stated.

Lunsford also articulated a lack of sympathy regarding the execution method, emphasizing Hasan's actions in 2009. "He didn't have that same compassion when he did the deed on 5 November," Lunsford said. "I think the method is befitting for him because the lethal injection - that's doing him a favor. Gas chamber? Is doing him a favor."

Legal experts have suggested that the unprecedented move of a public, livestreamed execution could face legal challenges and potentially be blocked, which would make it the first public execution in the U.S. in nearly a century if it proceeds.