By Misty Castile | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A Louisiana Republican senator is calling for the cancellation of a planned livestream of the Fort Hood shooter’s execution, saying it would turn justice into public entertainment.
State Sen. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, criticized the Pentagon’s proposal to broadcast the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
“Justice is not content, and it should never be measured in views,” Pressly wrote on social media.
Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, according to the Army. President Donald Trump approved the death sentence Oct. 2, and acting Army Secretary Adam Telle directed the execution Oct. 6.
Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the execution would be public so people could witness the consequences of such crimes. A Pentagon official subsequently confirmed plans to livestream the execution.
Pressly said victims and their families deserve justice, but he questioned whether broadcasting Hasan’s death would serve that purpose.
“The horrific attack at Fort Hood deserves justice, and the victims and their families deserve to never be forgotten,” Pressly wrote. “But justice cannot become a spectacle.”
He compared public executions to practices associated with authoritarian governments and terrorist organizations.
“America must stand apart from the brutality of ISIS and al-Qaida, not imitate their tactics by turning an execution into public entertainment,” Pressly wrote.
Trump has since indicated the livestream is not a final decision.
Speaking to reporters Saturday, the president said he would ultimately decide whether the execution would be publicly broadcast.
The announcement also raises questions about military execution procedures.
Army Regulation 190-55 governs military executions, including who may attend. The rules prohibit anyone younger than 18 from witnessing an execution but do not specifically address online broadcasts.
Hasan was convicted by a military court in 2013 and sentenced to death. His execution would be the first carried out by the U.S. military since 1961 and the first military execution by firing squad since 1945.
Pressly urged the administration to reconsider the broadcast.
“Let’s call off the broadcast,” he wrote. “Victims deserve justice, not a livestream.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from Pressly.