Retired US generals call on Pentagon to cancel 'barbaric' execution livestream
Livestreaming the execution of Nidal Hasan "will taint the honor of the military that employs it, and a nation that allows it," 72 former officers said in a letter.
Key points
- 72 retired US military officers urged the Pentagon to cancel the planned livestream of Nidal Hasan's 3 December execution.
- The signatories said the broadcast would violate constitutional protections and turn Hasan into a martyr.
- President Trump said he approved the plan, but CBS reported he had not made a final decision as of Tuesday.
A group of 72 retired US generals, admirals and other high-ranking military officers is pressing the US government to cancel plans to livestream an execution by firing squad. In an open letter released on Wednesday, they asked the President, Congressional representatives and fellow citizens to act to prevent what they called a barbaric abuse of authority.
The Pentagon announced last week that it would publicly show the 3 December execution of Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who shot dead 13 unarmed US soldiers at the Fort Hood military base. Lawmakers from both parties and religious leaders have criticised the plan.
What the officers argued
The former military leaders, including 45 generals, 12 admirals and several former judge advocates general, said they did not oppose the death penalty. But they argued a public execution would violate the US Constitution's protections against cruel and unusual punishment and turn what should be a solemn and grave punishment into a carnival for the enjoyment of voyeurs.
They also wrote that the exploitative broadcasting would taint the honor of the military and the nation, and that it would be used by enemies to harm American soldiers and citizens in the future.
We ask the President, our Congressional representatives, and our fellow citizens to act to prevent this barbaric abuse of authority
— retired US generals, admirals and other high-ranking military officers
Signatories and political reaction
Signatories included retired Maj Gen Tony Taguba, who led the Army's investigation into prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib, retired Air Force Col Moe Davis, a prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, former Nasa head Charles Bolden and retired Lt Gen Claudia Kennedy, the first woman to become a three-star general in the Army.
President Donald Trump said last week he absolutely approved of the livestream plan, but some administration officials are now leaning against it, according to CBS News. CBS reported that Trump had not made a final decision as of Tuesday. It would be the first public execution in the US in almost a century.
