Firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter may revive gun-fire deaths nationwide, expert says

The U.S. military is set to carry out a firing-squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood gunman who killed 13 people and injured 32 in 2009. The Pentagon plans to livestream the Dec. 3 execution, marking the first military execution by gunfire since Pvt. John A. Bennett was hanged in 1961.

Deborah Denno, a Fordham Law professor and capital-punishment expert, said a swift, certain death could make the firing squad an attractive option for other death-row inmates. Several states, including Idaho, Utah and South Carolina, have retained the method as lethal-injection drugs become harder to obtain. A recent botched lethal-injection in Tennessee, where the inmate survived two doses, has intensified scrutiny of existing methods.

While firing squads have historically caused few controversies, a 2022 South Carolina execution raised concerns after the condemned’s heart was not hit by the prescribed bullets, leading to a longer death. Denno cautioned that such outcomes should be watched closely as the Dec. 3 execution approaches.