First U.S. public execution in 90 years

Nidal Hasan, an ex-Army major convicted in the two thousand nine killings of thirteen people at Fort Hood, will be executed by firing squad on December third and livestreamed publicly.

Hasan paralyzed after police shooting

Hasan is paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair after being shot in the back by police who responded to the mass shooting at the military base.

Defense Secretary defends public execution

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Jack Posobiec on Real America's Voice that Hasan will get a firing squad of soldiers and people need to understand there are serious consequences for these types of things.

“We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things.”

Decision draws bipartisan criticism

The announcement has generated widespread, bipartisan criticism from lawmakers and human rights organizations who oppose making the execution public and livestreamed.

Only two countries execute publicly

Afghanistan and Iran are the only two known countries to execute anyone publicly in two thousand twenty-two, two thousand twenty-three, two thousand twenty-four and two thousand twenty-five, according to Amnesty International.

Republican senator compares U.S. to dictatorships

Republican Senator Thom Tillis wrote on X that public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do and should not be happening in America.

“Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.”

Last U.S. public execution was 1936

Rainey Bethea was hanged on August fourteenth, nineteen thirty-six in Owensboro, Kentucky. An estimated twenty thousand people gathered to watch, making it the last large-scale public execution in the United States.

Bethea's crime and conviction

Bethea was accused of raping and murdering a seventy-year-old woman in her home in Owensboro, Kentucky in June nineteen thirty-six. He was convicted of rape, which carried the death penalty, but never convicted of murder.

Iran executes dozens of protesters

At least twenty-four people were publicly executed in Iran from two thousand twenty-two to two thousand twenty-five.

Taliban executes in sports stadiums

Afghanistan has publicly executed at least twelve people since two thousand twenty-two. Executions have been carried out in front of thousands of onlookers in sports stadiums, including one in November two thousand twenty-four that earned…

Human rights groups warn of cruelty

Justin Mazzola, deputy director of research at Amnesty International USA, said livestreaming the execution would compound the cruelty of the death penalty and perpetuate the cycle of violence authorities purportedly seek to end.

“Livestreaming the taking of a life by firing squad would only compound the cruelty of the death penalty and perpetuate the cycle of violence that the authorities purportedly seek to end.”