For the first time in America, preparations are underway to telecast the execution of a convict live. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that former Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan will be executed by firing squad. Hasan will be hanged on December 3, 2026 at 1 pm. at the Fort Hood military base in Texas. This is the same place where he shot in 2009.

However, it is not yet clear where the live telecast will take place and who will show it. President Donald Trump has approved the death penalty, but his statements on the live broadcast have come out differently in different reports. The biggest question is whether American law allows a person sentenced to death to show live video to the whole world?

What happened in 2009?

On November 5, 2009, Major Nidal Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist, opened fire at the Fort Hood military base. In which 13 people died and 32 people were injured. In August 2013, a military court convicted him and sentenced him to death. According to the US Army, the Supreme Court declined to review his military conviction on March 31, 2025. After this, in October 2026, the President approved the execution of the death penalty.

Is execution by bullets legal in America?

Yes. In America, execution by firing squad is not itself illegal. In 1879, the US Supreme Court ruled that death by firing squad did not violate the provision of the Constitution that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. This method is allowed in five US states – Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. But giving the death penalty and broadcasting it live are two different legal questions.

Is live telecast allowed?

Video or audio recording of executions in US federal prisons is prohibited. But there is no such restriction in the rules of military prisons. US military regulations determine who can see the death penalty. This allowed officials, lawyers, family members and limited representatives of the media. However, people under the age of 18 are not allowed to watch it.

This rule can run into trouble with live streaming, as children can also watch videos on the Internet. Legal experts say the military regulations were made at a time when such streaming on the internet was unimaginable. However, no court has yet declared this proposed live broadcast legal or illegal.

When was the last public execution in America?

The last legal public execution in the United States took place on August 14, 1936, in Owensboro, Kentucky. Renee Bethea was publicly hanged for the rape and murder of an elderly woman. After this, death sentences were given in the presence of a limited number of people in America. The US Army last used firing squads in 1945. The last death penalty in the army was given in 1961.

What does international law say?

The United States signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1992. This agreement prohibits cruel and degrading punishment. However, it allows the death penalty for the most serious crimes. While accepting this, the US retained some rights regarding the death penalty.

The United Nations Human Rights Office has opposed the live telecast. He says this would amount to a public death sentence and would violate the international ban on torture. Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith has also warned that the video could cause psychological harm to children.

Why opposition to the decision in America?

Republican legislators Thom Tillis and Austin Scott have opposed the live broadcast. Democratic Senators Chris Murphy and Jack Reid have also questioned this. He says there is a difference between dispensing justice and making death a public spectacle. However, Republican MP Andy Ogles has supported the plan. Defense Minister Hegseth argues that public broadcasting will make people understand the consequences of serious crime. Experts fear that these videos can also be used by radical organizations for propaganda purposes.