Fort Hood Survivor Backs Firing-Squad Execution, Plans to Attend
Alonzo Lunsford, a former U.S. Army sergeant who survived the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting after being shot seven times, says he supports the execution of gunman Nidal Hasan by firing squad and plans to attend in person.
Lunsford spoke to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, 9 October. He said he plans to be there. He also said that as a Christian he has forgiven Hasan. BBC
Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 unarmed U.S. soldiers inside a medical building at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. BBC The attack also injured 32 people and has been described as the deadliest non-combat attack ever on an American military base. BBC
The Pentagon announced earlier this week that Hasan will be executed, which would be the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years. BBC U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the public will be able to view a livestream of the execution. The Pentagon says the public will be able to watch an execution by firing squad of a former U.S. Army major. BBC
The U.S. Army has set the execution for 1 p.m. CST on Dec. 3, 2026 at Fort Hood, Texas. US Army The U.S. military has not carried out a death sentence since 1961. Army Lawyer
Hasan, whose full name is Nidal Malik Hasan, was tried before a general court-martial, a military court authorized to consider capital punishment. US Army He was sentenced to death on Aug. 28, 2013. The sentence followed less than two hours of deliberations by the court-martial panel, the military equivalent of a jury, at Fort Hood. US Army
Lunsford, described as a retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, was shot in the head during the 2009 attack. Fox News In reaction to the execution order, he said "I want him to go out the same way." KWTX Speaking to the BBC, Lunsford said he supports Hasan's execution by firing squad. He said executing Hasan by lethal injection would be "doing him a favour." He also said he does not agree with showing the uncensored execution to the general public for entertainment purposes. BBC
The broader context here is procedure as much as punishment. A military death sentence from 2013 sat dormant for more than a decade, and a livestream ordered at the secretarial level tests the usual limits on who may witness a military execution.
In my view, that mix will shape coverage through December: a victim-witness who backs the method but cautions against broadcast as entertainment, a long gap since the last military execution, and a viewing policy that invites legal and ethical questions without changing the date or location.
