Fort Hood survivor: Livestreaming Hasan execution ‘dishonors’ victims

Alonzo Lunsford wants the man who shot him seven times at Fort Hood to die, and he says he has forgiven him anyway. What the retired Army staff sergeant does not want is for Americans to treat the execution as entertainment.

The Army set the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 attack that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others, for 1 p.m. Central time Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, the Army secretary confirmed this week. President Trump approved the sentence Friday, Oct. 2, according to ABC News. The Pentagon announced the decision Monday, saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had recommended it.

The Pentagon has since confirmed plans to livestream the execution, a step that followed Mr. Hegseth’s comments to a conservative TV outlet. “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” he said. Mr. Hegseth said the military has not executed a service member by firing squad since World War II.

Mr. Lunsford, who was shot above the left eye and played dead before escaping the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, said he plans to attend. He told Fox News he would prefer that a surviving victim or a victim’s relative carry out the sentence. He also said his faith would not let him heal without forgiving Hasan.

But he warned that treating the execution as a spectacle means “dishonoring those that made the supreme sacrifice.” He said he does not want children watching, though he believes adults can decide for themselves.

The plan has drawn criticism across party lines. Vice President JD Vance cast doubt Friday on whether the Pentagon will follow through, saying, “I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen.” He added that he would not watch if it does. Mr. Trump, asked whether he wants it livestreamed, said the Pentagon is making that determination, while again endorsing the firing squad.

Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, who supports the death sentence, said public executions are what oppressive regimes such as Iran and Afghanistan carry out. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, condemned the livestream plan and said it must be reconsidered.

Matthew Levitt, a former Treasury counterterrorism official now at the Washington Institute, told Fox News Digital that widely available footage could hand terrorist groups propaganda material. Hasan, who was paralyzed from the waist down when police shot him during the attack, has spoken before about becoming a martyr.

For Mr. Lunsford, the moment is personal. The two men locked eyes at Hasan’s 2013 court-martial, and he wants Hasan to see him again before the sentence is carried out. He said he hopes Hasan uses his final words to repent.