Chaplain (Maj) Khalid Shabazz and his chaplain assistant, Sgt Jessica Covello, hosted an Islamic iftar attended by “more than 60 soldiers and family members” at Fort Hood, Texas.
“Fasting increases our awareness of God and self-restraint,” Shabazz said. “Abstaining from something so natural such as food and water allows ourselves to gain a greater respect for those who suffer on a daily basis.”
Sgt Covello even tried a little mutual support: Read more
Former US Army PFC Naser Abdo appealed his conviction in the planned (and prepared) bombing attempt of his fellow US Army Soldiers near Fort Hood, Texas, in 2011. The court denied his appeal.
The appeals court denied Abdo’s request to consider his initial police detention a full arrest instead of just an investigatory stop, which would have made it unlawful and rendered it and statements obtained at the time inadmissible as evidence…
The court also denied that Abdo’s trial was unfair…
Abdo was the famous Islamic conscientious objector who was later charged for having child pornography on his government computer, went AWOL, and Read more
The trial of Fort Hood shooter US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan — the term “alleged” is apparently no longer necessary, since he stated in open court he did it — was halted by the military judge.
By Wednesday, the lawyers ordered to help him said they had had enough — they couldn’t watch him fulfill a death wish.
“It becomes clear his goal is to remove impediments or obstacles to the death penalty and is working toward a death penalty,” his lead standby attorney, Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, told the judge. That strategy, he argued, “is repugnant to defense counsel and contrary to our professional obligations.”
Poppe said he and the other standby lawyers want to take over the case, or if Hasan is allowed to continue on his own, they want their roles minimized so that Hasan couldn’t ask them for help with a strategy they oppose.
In short, the lawyers who are tasked to be in pseudo-standby to help him want to either take over — or they want out.
That Hasan may be actively seeking to be put to death is Read more
US Army Private Chris Munoz has reportedly filed an application to be a conscientious objector — just days before his unit ships out to Afghanistan. His lawyer, James Branum, said he’s actually been trying to do it since about halfway through basic training last year:
At weapons training, he really began to think about what he was being asked to do. He was told there could come a situation where he might be forced to fire on a child. He realized then he could not Read more
As jury selection continues in the Fort Hood massacre case, a potential juror seemed to express disbelief when the prosecutor asked him if he “had formed an opinion on whether Hasan is guilty.”
“He sits here in a wheelchair because of wounds he sustained on that particular day,” the colonel said. “In terms of 13 victims and who the shooter was, I have an opinion that Maj. Hasan was the individual who pulled the trigger.”
Given that the Judge keeps having to remind US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan not to refer to himself as “the shooter,” that might be a hard opinion to avoid.
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The courthouse in which US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan is to be tried for the Fort Hood massacre looks more like a bunker in Afghanistan than an office building in Texas. As noted by the Associated Press — which includes a rare photo of the combat zone-like revetments:
The military courthouse…has been transformed into a fortress, surrounded by hundreds of stacked freight car-sized shipping containers, and by tall dirt- and sand-filled barriers designed to protect it against the impact of a bomb blast. Armed soldiers stand guard around the building.
The substantial security measures may belie the attributed position that the government characterizes Hasan’s attack as “workplace violence,” not terrorism.
The article also notes the paralyzed Hasan is transported from the local jail to the courthouse by helicopter, at random times, “for his protection.”
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Update: Judge Col Osborn denied Hasan’s request for yet another delay, during which he was considering hiring an attorney after having asked to represent himself.
Military judge Col Tara Osborn said the jury can hear about the cries of a pregnant Soldier who was killed during the Fort Hood massacre:
A military judge says witness testimony about a dying pregnant soldier’s cries of “My baby! My baby!” will be allowed during the murder trial of the Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage.
That’s particularly interesting because the Army chose not to file a murder charge for the unborn child, even though the UCMJ permits it. The child would have nearly been four years old by now.
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Update: Congress has proposed a bill that would suspend the pay of defendants in pre-trial confinement. The law does have other consequences, though, like the impact to family members who might depend on that income.
The trial of accused Fort Hood shooter US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan seems to run the risk of becoming a circus — if it hasn’t already.
Hasan — essentially accused of committing a terrorist act on US soil — recently fired his attorneys (one of whom had just recently publicized his readiness to defend Hasan). The lawyers apparently all then complained about being forced to advise Hasan anyway, though they have dropped their objections. Hasan then got permission to represent himself, leading some to believe he’ll use the trial as a “soapbox” for his extremist Islamic ideology. In the least, it has offended the victims and the families of those killed, as it Read more