AP News In Brief

Death penalty possible for Fort Hood massacre suspect, but military executions have been rare

WASHINGTON (AP) — Though the suspect in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood could face the death penalty, he will be prosecuted in a military justice system where no one has been executed in nearly a half-century.

Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist alleged to have killed 13 people at the massive Army installation in Texas last week, might also benefit from protections the military provides defendants that are greater than those offered in civilian federal courts.

"Our military justice system is not bloodthirsty. That's clear," said Eugene R. Fidell, who teaches military law at Yale.

Much about Hasan's case will be decided by a senior Army officer — perhaps Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, Fort Hood's commander — including whether to seek the death penalty and, in the event Hasan is convicted of capital murder, whether to commute a possible death sentence to life in prison.

Before a military execution can be carried out, the president must personally approve.