Hegseth wants a livestream execution. Here's how firing squads work

Axios · 10/13/2026, 6:07:56 PM

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to livestream the December execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by using a firing squad, one of the rarest forms of capital punishment in the United States. Why it matters: The planned livestream would mark the first public U.S. execution in roughly 90 years, but it has already drawn scrutiny , with President Trump expressing doubt it'll happen. Catch up quick: Hegseth said Oct. 8 that Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting , will be executed in December, and the execution will be livestreamed. Trump has expressed apparent uneasiness despite giving his initial endorsement , Axios' Marc Caputo reported. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) expressed some concerns, too, while Vice President Vance said he wouldn't watch if it were aired. Zoom out: Execution by firing squad is rare, with only six since capital punishment resumed in 1977, per the Death Penalty Information Center. . The U.S. military last executed someone by firing squad in 1945, when it executed Pvt. Eddie Slovik for desertion in France, per NPR . The military's last execution was in 1961, when it hanged John A. Bennett . How a firing squad works State of play: The Pentagon hasn't disclosed its firing squad procedures for Hasan's execution and didn't respond to Axios' request for comment Tuesday. Past executions offer a glimpse of what the method typically involves. How it works: The procedure typically begins with a prisoner strapped to a chair placed before a wall and surrounded by sandbags to absorb blood. A medical professional will typically mark a target over the prisoner's heart, while a black hood covers the prisoner's head. The shooters fire simultaneously, aiming at the heart, from a set distance away from the prisoner. If shooters miss the heart, the prisoner can still die from blood loss. Zoom in: States have different approaches to the firing squad method. For example, Utah uses five shooters, one of whom has a blank round,