U.S. President Donald Trump has scrapped a proposal to broadcast the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army soldier convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
Hasan, who was found guilty of murdering 13 people and wounding 32 others at the Texas military base, has been awaiting execution for several years. The decision to cancel the livestream was announced by the White House, though the administration did not provide further details on the reasoning behind the move.
The Fort Hood incident, which occurred on November 5, 2009, remains one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. military personnel in recent history. Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 after a federal trial concluded that he had acted in a “murderous, premeditated” manner.
While the U.S. has not yet carried out a death penalty for a soldier since the 1990s, the potential for a televised execution had raised concerns among civil rights groups and international observers about the implications for the country’s image and human rights record.
With the livestream plan now abandoned, the execution is expected to proceed according to the existing legal timetable, pending any further appeals or clemency requests that may arise.
<small>Source: Punch Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>