WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on Thursday condemned the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, writing that the nation can pursue justice without “turning an execution into a grotesque public spectacle” and calling on the Defense Department to reverse course “immediately.”
Murray posted her reaction on X at 7:16 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2026. Her full statement read:
“We can seek justice in this country without glorifying violence and turning an execution into a grotesque public spectacle.
What this criminal did was abhorrent and must be punished—but we as a country cannot condone livestreaming a man’s death for entertainment. We are long past the days of public hangings in the town square. Kids watch what our leaders do and say, is this kind of bloodshed really what we want them seeing?
The Pentagon must revoke this decision immediately.”
Murray was responding directly to a report from The Associated Press that the Pentagon confirmed Thursday the execution will be livestreamed. The disclosure followed remarks a day earlier by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who described the execution as “public” in an interview with the conservative outlet Real America’s Voice.
The Execution Plan
The Army announced this week that Hasan will be executed at Fort Hood on Dec. 3. Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack at the Texas base and was sentenced to death in 2013. It will be the first U.S. military execution since April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the decision Monday in a post on X, saying Hegseth “has recommended – and President Donald J. Trump has approved – death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan.” Parnell added that the Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution, and wrote: “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.”
Hegseth’s Remarks
Hegseth discussed the plan Wednesday on Real America’s Voice. “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” he said. Asked whether Hasan had made any final requests or contacted the administration, the Pentagon chief replied: “Don’t care. We’ll see him on Dec. 3.” Pentagon officials clarified Thursday that the execution would be livestreamed and that more details would follow, while the White House referred questions about the plan to the Pentagon.
Murray’s Argument
Murray’s statement makes three distinct points. She frames the dispute as a question of method rather than punishment, writing that justice can be pursued “without glorifying violence.” She also states plainly that Hasan’s crime was “abhorrent and must be punished,” and she then draws a line at broadcasting the death, saying the country “cannot condone livestreaming a man’s death for entertainment.”
Murray ties the issue to the public example set by officials. “Kids watch what our leaders do and say, is this kind of bloodshed really what we want them seeing?” she wrote. Her closing demand was direct: “The Pentagon must revoke this decision immediately.”
Legal Experts Weigh In
Legal scholars quoted in the Associated Press report offered mixed reactions to the livestream. Deborah Denno, a death penalty expert at Fordham University, said it could make the process “much more transparent,” adding, “I think it could possibly be a good idea because it would be transparent and the public would be fully aware that it’s happening.”
Others raised sharper concerns. Elisabeth Semel, co-director of the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley Law, said that although televising executions has long been debated, “I don’t recall a situation in which it was instigated by the government. I think that also raises serious questions about what is the motivation of the government.” She added: “This is a president who’s about spectacle and that’s, I think, precisely the message that he intends to deliver.”
Brenner Fissell, a Villanova Law professor and vice president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said firing squads “can be a quicker, cleaner, more precise way to execute a prisoner,” but that “there’s a perceived masculinity and military-ness to firing squads that is part of the aura Hegseth is trying to emphasize — the ‘lethality culture.’”
Open Legal Questions
The execution could still be delayed. Experts said Hasan could resist and file a habeas petition in civilian court, which could significantly postpone the date. “It frankly might outlast the current administration,” said Eugene R. Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School specializing in military law.
Attorney John Galligan, a former military judge who has represented Hasan in civil matters, said Hasan had not yet had access to legal counsel and that a chaplain, but no attorney, was present when he was notified that Trump had signed off. Galligan called that a breach of Army regulations. An Army spokeswoman said multiple attempts were made to reach Trial Defense Service attorneys and that officials “made every reasonable effort and adhered to policy.”
Trump’s Earlier Words on Public Executions
The plan arrives against the backdrop of Trump’s own criticism of public executions abroad. Before the U.S. attack on Iran on Feb. 28, Trump cited the possible killing of protesters by the Iranian government as a rationale for action. “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping,” he told reporters on Jan. 14. “It’s stopping, and there’s no plan for executions.” In his State of the Union address days before the war began, he said, “We stopped them from hanging a lot of them with the threat of serious violence.”
Amnesty International’s report on executions in 2025 documented at least 17 public executions worldwide, 11 in Iran and six in Afghanistan.
Murray’s Record on Fort Hood and Terrorism
Murray’s record includes direct engagement with the 2009 attack. She was among the senators who signed on to Senate Resolution 344, which expressed the sense of the Senate regarding the Fort Hood shooting, and which the chamber agreed to on Nov. 6, 2009, one day after the attack.
Her official statements also show support for lethal action against terrorists. After the 2011 death of Osama bin Laden, Murray said the moment “will continue to propel our efforts to root out terrorists wherever they reside,” and thanked “those who have been lost in our military efforts and to our veterans and their families.”
Murray’s Record With Hegseth
Murray has been a persistent critic of Hegseth since before his confirmation. In a statement posted on her official website, she said that if Hegseth was “determined to make the role of Secretary and Department of Defense partisan by refusing to meet with Senators as part of his confirmation process—then he shouldn’t be confirmed as Secretary of Defense.” On the Senate floor she called him “grossly unqualified to take on one of the most important jobs in the world.”
At a June 11, 2025, Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing, Murray told Hegseth that she was “repeatedly hearing that your policy and personnel changes at the Pentagon are only undermining–not strengthening–our military’s preparedness to protect our country.” She also pressed him on the firing of Navy shipbuilders and on his leaked Signal chat. In July 2026, she again discussed Hegseth’s Senate testimony, this time on the administration’s Iran war objectives, in a national radio interview.
What Comes Next
The Pentagon has not yet released details of how the livestream would work, who would be permitted to view the proceeding, or whether the plan could change in response to criticism like Murray’s. Army policy sets an execution window of no sooner than 60 days and no later than 150 days after presidential approval, leaving Dec. 3 as the current target while Hasan’s legal options remain unresolved.