The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-09 · by Nicola Davis Science correspondent
Mental health experts warn that livestreaming the upcoming execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad could cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in viewers. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans to broadcast the execution on December 3rd, making it likely the first public execution in the United States in nearly a century. Forensic psychologist Dr. Simon Duff and Professor Neil Greenberg from King’s College London advise against watching the event due to potential psychological harm, especially for those with pre-existing mental health conditions.
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
Nidal Hasan, convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting where he killed 13 and wounded 32 soldiers while shouting "Allahu Akbar," will be executed by firing squad on December 3, at 2 p.m. EST at Fort Hood, Texas. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle announced this decision after President Donald Trump approved it based on a recommendation from War Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth stated that the execution would be public and livestreamed to demonstrate serious consequences for such acts. Retired Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford, shot in the head during the attack, plans to attend the execution for closure. This will mark the first US military execution by firing squad since 1945.
Written for “Firing Squad Execution Livestreamed” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 60 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 68399: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-09
Livestreaming an execution could cause post-traumatic stress disorder in the viewing public, mental health experts have said after the US confirmed plans to broadcast the death by firing squad of a man who shot dead 13 unarmed soldiers.
uncertain
who → livestreame → soldiers
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said on Thursday that Nidal Hasan, a former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be executed by firing squad on 3 December.
asserted
who → say → December
Officials later confirmed it would be livestreamed.
asserted
it → confirm → ?
It is believed it will be the first public execution in the US in almost a century.
asserted
it → believe → century
Hegseth said: “It was a radical Islamist attack in uniform inside the ranks, and so he’s going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
asserted
people → say → things
Experts said watching the event could result in lasting harms for viewers.
uncertain
watching → say → viewers
Dr Simon Duff, a forensic psychologist at the University of Nottingham in the UK, said that while there was not a lot of research into the impact of watching an execution, studies examining journalists’ experiences of witnessing violence suggested evidence of trauma response.
uncertain
studies → say → response
“Certainly if people are not resilient they probably shouldn’t [watch], but if they have some underlying psychological driver towards viewing an execution they will likely do so regardless of the potential for harm,” Duff said.
asserted
Duff → watch → harm
“Recent events suggest that executions do not always go to plan,” he said, referring to the failed execution by lethal injection of Christa Pike in the US.
asserted
he → suggest → US
“That possibility needs to be acknowledged, and the likelihood that this would increase the trauma for viewers.”
asserted
this → need → viewers
Neil Greenberg, a professor of defence mental health at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, said trigger warnings did not routinely lead to people avoiding media they may find distressing.
uncertain
they → say → media
“Instead they are likely to suffer anticipatory anxiety before the ‘trauma’ is shown and some people will then become distressed,” he said.
asserted
he → suffer → anxiety
“It is likely that people who have pre-existing mental health problems will be especially at risk of becoming distressed or experiencing a deterioration in their mental health.
asserted
who → have → health
“My advice would be not to watch the event at all and I would hope that mainstream media would not transmit highly traumatic images [or] sounds.”
asserted
media → watch → images
Public executions were once common around the world, including in the UK, but only two out of 17 countries that carried out executions last year did so publicly.
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that → include → executions
Prof Rosalind Crone, an historian at the Open University in the UK, said: “Public execution in England and Wales was abolished in 1868 because of persistent and increasing concern about the effects of watching hangings on the crowd.
asserted
execution → say → crowd
“It was clear that public execution did not have a deterrent effect, in fact, sometimes the opposite.”
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execution → have → fact
Crone said crowds were increasingly made up of people missing work to attend, and people who were drunk, rowdy and celebratory.
asserted
who → say → work
“Charles Dickens sums up the increasing objections well in his letter to the Daily News in 1846: ‘No sorrow, no salutatory terror, no abhorrence, no seriousness, nothing but ribaldry, debauchery, levity, drunkenness and flouting vice in fifty other shapes’,” she said.
asserted
she → sum → shapes
“Public execution – and execution full stop – does not work as a deterrent,” Crone added.
asserted
Crone → work → deterrent
“If anything, the use of a medium like video broadcast will likely generate new, potentially more dangerous problems in managing crowd responses and reactions.”
asserted
use → generate → responses
The Aporia
