Alonzo Lunsford, a survivor of the Fort Hood mass shooting in 2009, has expressed support for Nidal Hasan's execution by firing squad but is concerned about it being livestreamed. Lunsford was shot seven times and believes that other methods like lethal injection would be too lenient for Hasan, who killed 13 people. While he agrees with the chosen method of execution, Lunsford questions whether a public broadcast serves as proper retribution or merely entertainment.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Nidal Hasan, convicted for killing 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, will be executed by firing squad on December 3rd. The execution, scheduled to take place at the same time of day as the original shooting, is set to be livestreamed and made public. Hegseth described this method as a "no-brainer" and emphasized that it was crucial for people to understand the serious consequences of such actions. This decision marks the first military execution by firing squad since 1945, raising questions about the methods used in executing death row inmates in the U.S.
Written for “Fort Hood Shooter Execution Livestream” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 32 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 67961 · logged 2026-10-09
- Published
A former US Army sergeant who survived the mass shooting on Fort Hood has said that while he supports the execution of the gunman by firing squad, he is concerned about it being livestreamed.
asserted
it → publish → squad
Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot seven times, told the BBC that the "method is befitting" for Nidal Hasan because other methods like lethal injection would be "doing him a favour".
asserted
methods → shoot → favour
Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 unarmed US soldiers in a medical building at Fort Hood in 2009.
asserted
Hasan → shoot → 2009
But while Lunsford agreed with the method, he said the execution is "not something you should view for entertainment purposes".
asserted
you → agree → purposes
Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, he said: "To show the whole thing without it being censored for the general public, for me personally, I don't agree with that, but it's not about my personal belief."
asserted
it → speak → belief
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the public will be able to view a livestream of the execution, saying it is important for people to see the consequences of this kind of crime.
asserted
people → say → crime
If it goes ahead, and legal experts told the BBC it might not ever happen, it would be the first public execution in the US in almost a century.
uncertain
it → go → century
Lunsford explained that while he is concerned about the "effect" and "message" a livestream would send to younger people, when it comes to the survivors, their families and the families of the victims, they "should be able to look at it".
asserted
they → explain → it
"I'm gonna be there [to watch in person] and before they pull the trigger, I want him to look at me in my eyes and I look at him in his eyes and I want him to know: 'Dude you failed, I'm still here
asserted
I → go → eyes
,'" he said.
asserted
he → say → ?
"I don't really have any sympathy for him as far as firing squad vs lethal injection, hanging or gas chamber, because he didn't have that same compassion when he did the deed on 5 November," the former sergeant explained.
asserted
sergeant → have → November
"I think the method is befitting for him because the lethal injection - that's doing him a favour.
asserted
that → think → favour
But Lunsford said that as a Christian, he has forgiven Hasan because "I cannot heal if I don't forgive him".
asserted
I → say → him
"We're taught that with your last breath you can ask for forgiveness and I think that's what he [Hasan] should do," he added.
asserted
he → teach → he
Telling his account of what happened that day, he said Hasan got out of his chair and jumped onto a counter, before pulling out a weapon and discharging rounds.
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Hasan → tell → rounds
Lunford said he was looking for an exit via the back door, which was "two or three strides" away from him when he was first shot above his left eye and then "hit two more times in my back" as he crawled behind a desk.
asserted
he → say → desk
"At that point I played dead," he said.
asserted
he → play → point
When Hasan moved on, he grabbed a nearby wounded soldier and went outside, where Lunsford said Hasan came up behind them and shot him again.
asserted
Hasan → move → him
One memory he said that "bothers" him from the day was of a woman who told Hasan she was pregnant.
"
asserted
she → say → Hasan
We heard a gunshot and the last thing that girl was saying was: 'Oh my god, my baby, my baby.'"
asserted
girl → hear → god
Lunsford said personnel don't carry weapons in medical facilities, and that Hasan "took the coward's way out" to attack them there.
asserted
Hasan → say → them
"And then for him to say he is fighting for his cause?
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he → say → cause
I've read the Quran, and everything that he said he was doing that was in the Quran is not supported by the Quran," he explained.
asserted
he → read → Quran
Hasan's execution was announced by the Pentagon earlier this week, in what will be the first military execution in more than 60 years.
asserted
what → announce → years
Legal experts have told the BBC there are a number of hurdles around the livestreaming of this which could mean it is successfully challenged in court.
uncertain
it → tell → court
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told CNN it was "disgusting" while Republican Senator Thom Tillis said public executions were what "oppressive dictators" did.
asserted
dictators → tell → what
"It should not be happening in America," he added in a post on X., external
asserted
he → happen → X.
The Aporia
