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Fort Hood execution livestream called off
The officer was convicted of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage at the base in Texas in 2009. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out the plan to broadcast the execution last week and framed it as a way to deter other attacks.
The decision set off backlash almost instantly from lawmakers of both parties, from faith leaders, and from a sergeant who was wounded during the attack. In an open letter, dozens of retired admirals, generals, and other military officers warned that livestreaming the execution would violate basic human dignity. One former commanding general of Fort Hood told The Times that broadcasting it from the base could make the base a target for retribution in the future.
Under the new plan, only immediate family members of the victims will be allowed to watch the execution in person in December. According to two senior US officials, many Pentagon leaders and members of the military's joint staff, who had been surprised and shocked by the plan, were relieved to learn that the decision had been reversed.
Why did the US end public executions?
The last public execution in the US took place in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged before a crowd estimated in the thousands. Newspaper coverage described a carnival atmosphere, and the public reaction pushed Kentucky to move executions behind prison walls. Most other states had already moved executions indoors by then. Kentucky outlawed public executions in 1938.
Why does a military death sentence need presidential approval?
Under Article 71 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a death sentence cannot be carried out until the president approves it. Congress passed the code in 1950, and the rule places the final decision with the civilian commander in chief rather than with commanders inside the services. Court-martial convictions in death penalty cases also go through automatic review by a service appeals court and then by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. That court is made up of civilian judges.