US military execution to be livestreamed

Alex Ritzen (0:00)

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritzen, and in the early hours of Friday, the 9th of October, these are our main stories. The Pentagon says it will live stream the firing squad execution of a former army officer convicted of a mass shooting on a US military base. In South Africa, there have been more violent anti-immigrant protests across the country. Britain's former Prince Andrew wins his claim against the police over their raids on his homes.

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The execution of Nidal Hasan in the United States, which is due to happen in December, was already unprecedented. It would be the first military execution by firing squad of a soldier since the end of the Second World War. And the last execution in public in the US was in 1936 Now, the US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has decided to go further by announcing that the execution will be live streamed. Hasan, a former army psychiatrist, shot dead 13 unarmed US soldiers at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009 He later said he was retaliating for America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr Hegseth explained why the execution would be at Fort Hood.

Pete Hegseth (1:46)

An army major betrays his country, radical Islamist, kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood. Of course we're going to do it at Fort Hood. We're going to do it on a Thursday, we're going to do it at one o'clock, which is when he did it, and it's going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad.

It hadn't been since World War II since we've done that. Well I kind of like the mentality we had in World War II, which was win, which was understand when the enemy attacks you, you need to stand your ground.

Alex Ritzen (2:10)

I heard more from Daniel Lipman, who is a White House reporter, from the website Politico.

Daniel Lippmann (2:16)

This would be the first live streamed public execution of anyone in American history. Usually these things are behind closed doors, but Hegseth has made a very important, in his view, significant decision to make the military more macho. He has said that the justification is that it would be a kind of a deterrent factor where people who would otherwise think to do this might get turned off from doing such an act in the future. Of course, the logical counterpoint to that would be people who are shooting up army bases with a dozen soldiers that they are killing, they are not of sound mind, so they're not making a logical calculation there. But Hegseth got this approved by Trump, and I think he is very in tune with the White House to try to please Trump and satisfy his desires.

Alex Ritzen (3:11)

The US, others are normally critical of other countries which hold public executions. Why is this different?

Daniel Lippmann (3:20)

Yeah, Trump has actually criticized the Iranian government for public executions. Even a couple of months ago, he was saying that he was urging the Iranian government to not execute any of the protesters. And so obviously, there is no question that this man committed this heinous act. But I should caveat this, that this may not even come to pass in December, because Nidal Hasan may appeal this verdict, this decision, and in America, these court battles last for a very long time. And so it could stretch into a future administration, which would not want to execute by firing squad or by live stream.

Alex Ritzen (4:00)

What's the American public going to make of this? Would it be popular?

Daniel Lippmann (4:04)

I'm sure that there'd be some people who would want to watch it. I don't think the American news channels will carry it live, the CNN and MS Nows of America. But for a lot of Trump's base, it's young men who watch Ultimate Fighting Championship, who liked seeing the UFC fight on the White House grounds. And so those people are very online, and I'm sure that this would get a good viewing, but kind of satisfy the bloodlust of some Americans. But I don't think that's going to win many votes for Trump in November, because people who are rah-rah about this, they would be voting for Trump anyway. And this might turn off some of his, the more moderate people who would say that this is not proper.