The trial of accused Fort Hood shooter US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan is set to begin at the end of May.
Hasan faces 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting spree…
Proceedings have been delayed several times due to legal wrangling over his beard.
Because when 13 14 people are killed in a US Army processing line in Texas, that’s important.
The Department of Defense has told Congress that their bills aimed at granting combat wounded status — Purple Hearts — to the victims of the Fort Hood massacre would prejudice his court-martial:
Passage of this legislation could directly and indirectly influence potential court-martial panel members, witnesses, or the chain of command, all of whom exercise a critical role under the [UCMJ]. Defense counsel will argue that Major Hasan cannot receive a fair trial because a branch of government has indirectly declared that Major Hasan is a terrorist — that he is criminally culpable.
This must be one of the awkward results of the “fairness” of the American judicial system. Everyone “knows” he did it. Hasan has even tried to plead guilty, and would Continue reading
The court-martial of US Army Maj Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre that killed 14 people, is scheduled to begin July 1st. (Jury selection begins in May.)
The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, said she expects testimony in the trial to last up to three months. The government has nearly 300 witnesses.
Three months is nothing, given the fact the pre-trial has lasted nearly four years.
Kimberly Munley, one of the civilian security personnel who exchanged fire with accused Fort Hood shooter US Army Maj Nidal Malik Hasan, has said she feels “betrayed” by the President.
“Betrayed is a good word,” former Sgt. Kimberly Munley told ABC News in an interview Tuesday. “Not to the least little bit have the victims been taken care of. In fact, they’ve been neglected.”
Survivors and families of the victims have filed a lawsuit against the government, claiming it is hiding behind its own classification of “workplace violence” to avoid legal and financial responsibility.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the government would not Continue reading
Whatever one may think of his politics, it is difficult to doubt former President George W. Bush’s sincerity when it comes to his love for US troops. In fact, his role as commander in chief and his ability to interact with members of the US military are the only things he says he misses about being the US President.
He has continued to serve projects that benefit wounded warriors, and he Continue reading
The new trial judge for US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the 2009 massacre at Fort Hood, has said Hasan’s decision to wear a beard violates Army regulations, but that’s ok. Notably:
The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, said she won’t hold it against him but that military jurors might.
That, of course, is one of the points raised Continue reading
A military appeals court has removed Col Gregory Gross from the murder trial of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan. It also vacated the contempt of court fines previously levied.
But what about the religious claim to his beard?
“Should the next military judge find it necessary Continue reading
BrigGen Dana Born, Dean of the US Air Force Academy, has announced her intention to retire in the summer of 2013.
Ordinarily, such a move wouldn’t be newsworthy. However, Gen Born has been under constant attack by Michael Weinstein — aided by his veritable PR arm, Pam Zubeck of the Colorado Springs Independent — for several years. Zubeck, who has long had sources on the USAFA faculty eager to undermine their own institution, “scooped” even the official US military announcement of Born’s retirement, and she did so without attempting to hide her bias:
Brig. Gen. Dana Born, one of the most controversial figures Continue reading
As reported by the Associated Press, victims and surviving family members of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre have filed a lawsuit against the US government alleging negligence and shirking of responsibility. They claim the government is attempting to avoid liability by referring to the attack as “workplace violence” rather than terrorism:
The lawsuit alleging negligence by the government said that the Defense Continue reading
A Fort Hood press release notes the training program for Army chaplains in marriage and family counseling. In a trait few seem to realize, the chaplains who attend the program are not only specially trained in counseling, they also get a degree in the process:
“Our primary mission is to train Army chaplains in marriage and family counseling,” said Chap. [LtCol] Mark Knox, director of the FLCTC… “[Chaplains] go to school and get an additional degree over at Texas A&M in Counseling Psychology. And then we provide Continue reading
Floyd Corkins is the man who allegedly tried to enter the Family Research Council’s building in Washington, DC, with 15 Chick-FIL-A sandwiches, a gun, and 50 rounds of ammunition. He wounded a guard before he was wrestled to the ground. He claimed he didn’t like the FRC’s politics.
He has been charged with domestic terrorism.
Corkins, of Herndon, Virginia, pleaded not guilty in a brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts. The charges include committing an act of terrorism Continue reading
Despite his claim that he grew his beard for religious reasons, an Army appeals court has ruled US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, may be forcibly shaved to meet US Army grooming standards.
The court also ruled that Col. Gregory Gross, the trial judge, properly found that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not give Hasan the right to have a beard while in uniform Continue reading
Col Gregory Gross, the judge presiding over the murder trial of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan for the Fort Hood massacre, followed through on his threat and issued an order that Hasan must shave — or he will be shaved.
Gross…issued his order Thursday after a hearing to determine whether a federal religious freedom law applied to Hasan’s case. Soldiers may be granted permission to grow beards for religious reasons, and six soldiers have been allowed to do so: a rabbi, two Muslim doctors and three Sikhs, according to Army records.
Hasan said he is violating regulations not out of disrespect, but of religious requirement:
Hasan told the judge last week that he grew a beard because his Muslim faith requires it, not as a show of disrespect. Gross ruled Thursday that the defense didn’t prove Hasan is growing a beard for sincere religious reasons.
While the whole concept might sound a bit odd to outsiders, forced Continue reading
The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the death penalty sentence of former Marine Lance Cpl. Kenneth G. Parker:
The court threw out Parker’s conviction for one of the two murders and reassessed his sentence for the other crime. The decision continues a trend of military death sentences being overturned on appeal — 11 out of 16 death sentences since 1984. The last military execution occurred in 1961.
Parker’s crime occurred in 1992.
The ruling was made Continue reading
US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s trial on charges he murdered 13 people and tried to kill 32 more in the Fort Hood massacre in 2009 has been delayed — again — as the defense appeals the trial judge’s demand that Hasan be shaved — forcibly, if necessary.
Hasan has grown the beard in violation of Army regulations, and Gross has not allowed him to stay in the courtroom, saying the beard is a disruption. However, the judge said he wants Hasan in the room during the court-martial to prevent a possible appeal on the issue if he is convicted. He said Hasan would be forcibly shaved at some point Continue reading