Trump Orders Nidal Hasan’s Execution by Firing Squad

President Donald Trump has ordered the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former U.S. Army psychiatrist responsible for killing 13 unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suggested using a firing squad, which Trump approved. Hasan, sentenced to death in 2013 by a military jury, will be the first U.S. soldier executed in over 60 years.

The Trump administration reintroduced firing squads, along with electrocution and gas asphyxiation, as alternative execution methods due to concerns over lethal injection. This move has sparked interest in states to consider these methods where currently prohibited.

What Does Execution by Firing Squad Mean?

Firing squad execution is one of five historical methods in the U.S., alongside lethal injection, electrocution, gas, and hanging. The firing squad has been rare, utilized only six times since capital punishment resumed in 1977. Trump included it as a legal form for severe federal crimes, though occurrences remain few.

Lethal injection has been the preferred execution method since 1976; electrocution follows, while hanging is banned nationwide.

Which States Allow Execution by Firing Squad?

Military executions differ from state-level executions. Military law requires appellate review and presidential approval. Of the 27 states where capital punishment is legal—such as Texas, Florida, and Georgia—only five permit firing squads: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.

Other states, including California and Oregon, have moratoriums, while 23 states and Washington, D.C., abolished the death penalty.

Although most states allow inmates to choose their execution method, Idaho will primarily use firing squads starting July 1, 2026. Tennessee faced controversy when inmate Christa Pike requested execution by firing squad, a method the state does not legally offer.

How Does Execution by Firing Squad Work?

In this method, trained volunteers from state corrections, law enforcement, or the military shoot simultaneously at a restrained inmate, aiming for the heart. The volunteers remain anonymous, and multiple shooters aim to prevent identifying who fired the lethal shot.

South Carolina uses a firing squad of three volunteers, whereas Utah employs five certified officers. In South Carolina, prisoners sit on a metal chair 15 feet from the shooters, receiving bullets designed to cause maximum harm.

When Was the Last Firing Squad Execution?

In the past, this execution method was infrequent, but South Carolina conducted three such executions between March and November last year. Brad Keith Sigmon, Mikal Mahdi, and Stephen Corey Bryant chose firing squad execution under a 2021 law offering choices among execution methods.

Sigmon was the first in the U.S. since Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010, and South Carolina’s first ever. Sigmon received two death sentences for the 2001 murder of his ex-girlfriend’s parents. Mahdi, convicted in 2006, had killed two people across multiple states, including Officer James Myers. Bryant was sentenced in 2008 after the murder of three people in 2004.

South Carolina’s Supreme Court rules permit firing squads, electric chairs, and lethal injection, deeming them not excessively cruel. However, Mahdi’s case raised concerns after findings suggested that a misfire might have prolonged his suffering.

When Will Hasan Be Executed?

Nidal Hasan formerly served as a U.S. Army psychiatrist. Radicalized after his mother’s death, he committed the 2009 Fort Hood attack, the deadliest noncombat assault on a U.S. military base. Secretary of the Army will determine the execution’s timing and location. Pentagon spokesperson Parnell declared, “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.” Secretary of Defense Hegseth expressed satisfaction with the decision on social media.

Hasan is among four inmates on U.S. military death row.