Posted on 11/12/2009 11:44:49 AM PST by lbryce
Military prosecutors have charged Maj. Nadil Malik Hasan with 13 counts of premeditated murder in last week’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Tex., a spokesman for the Army criminal investigation division said Thursday.
Major Hasan, 39, an Army psychiatrist, is accused of opening fire with two handguns in a Soldier Medical Readiness Center, where troops receive medical attention before being deployed or after returning from overseas.
Of the 13 people who were killed, , four were officers, 8 were enlisted soldiers and one was a civilian. Major Hasan was eventually subdued by civilian police.
The 13 charges against Major Hasan are “initial charges,” said the Army spokesman, Chris Grey, “and additional charges may be preferred in the future, subject to the ongoing criminal investigation.”
“It is important to remember that the preferral of charges is the first step in the court-martial process,” Mr. Grey said, “and that a charge is merely an accusation. The accused is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.”
Col. John P. Galligan, a retired Army officer, who is representing Major Hasan, has questioned whether the suspect will be able to get a fair trial at Fort Hood.
For now, Mr. Grey added, “Major Hasan is currently under pretrial restriction while receiving medical care.”
Major Hasan is reported to be in stable condition in an Army Hospital in San Antonio, where he is recovering from four gunshot wounds.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The last execution by the military was 1961.
1961 - Death by hanging, approved two years earlier by Eisenhower.
But, Bush was the first President to approve a sentence of death since Eisenhower. That case is on appeal and might be decided sometime next year. If so, he'll be executed. This Hasan case will certainly end with a sentence of death, although it will be a decade - give or take - before a final resolution is determined.
Military court is *not* like civilian court.
He’s a dead man, walking.
[however briefly]
Treason and sedition would seem to fit. Texas should get a shot at him for the civilian.
I don't know how "circumstances" got deleted from my first post.
Look hard, because there is no Punitive Article on Treason.
Obama will respond by giving him clemency after a show trial. Can't set a bad example to the Islamic world by executing a Muslim for doing what the Koran commands: Killing infidels.
Lets not jump to conclusions here folks...The people that died misused the bullets that Hasan was giving away free. He was just misunderstood and treated very badly because he was a Muslim./s
That’s what I was wondering.
From the UCMJ:
918. ART. 118. MURDER
Any person subject to this chapter whom without justification or excuse, unlawfully kills a human being, when he- -
(1) has a premeditated design to kill;
(2) intends to kill or inflict great bodily harm;
(3) is engaged in an act which is inherently dangerous to others and evinces a wanton disregard of human life; or
(4) is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of burglary, sodomy, rape, robbery, or aggravated arson;
is guilty of murder, and shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct, except that if found guilty under clause (1) or (4), he shall suffer death or imprisonment for life as a court-martial may direct.
Sure would hate for the scum to go to jail just to reproduce more terrorists.
Can he be charged with the murders and also treason?
The murders would be easy, but they probably need more evidence for treason. However, if he sent money to pakistand and was sending e-mails to bin laden, then it seems they have some evidence in those regards.
So, what is treason then? Can you describe a case of treason that would be easy to prove? We are devoiding the concept of treason of meaning. It means nothing. Noone ever commits treason any more. Just lesser crimes that are easy to prove in court.
If I were Hasan’s attorneys, my defense would be that his was an act of war and therefore, murder charges cannot possibly apply.
I wonder if he’ll demand to testify...probably against his attorney’s advice..and maybe he’ll admit, for all the world to hear, that his indeed was an act of terror, or Jihad..
Since he communicated with those who attacked on 9/11 and was very vocal about refusing to fight “his own”, aiding the enemy might apply.
[who knows what he knew and who he told it to]
904. ART. 104. AIDING THE ENEMY
Any person who—
(1) aids, or attempts to aid, the enemy with arms, ammunition, supplies, money, or other things; or
(2) without proper authority, knowingly harbors or [protects or gives intelligence to or communicates or corresponds with or holds any intercourse with the enemy, either directly or indirectly;
shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial or military commission may direct.
Personally, I think he’ll get CM-ed for the murder charges.
Probably but they can only kill him once and if I were him, I’d be a *lot* more scared that the military was gonna try me....:)
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