Shooting at Ft. Hood Texas 11/05/09 13 dead, 43 wounded-(Murder Charges)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/02/us-usa-crime-forthood-idUSBRE9610D520130702
Accused Fort Hood shooter to enter plea at pre-trial hearing in Texas
July 2, 2013

(Reuters) - The U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009 is expected to enter a formal plea on the charges Tuesday in the last scheduled hearing before jury selection begins in his military trial.
 
Earlier in the case, Hasan offered to plead guilty if the death penalty were taken off the table, an offer rejected by the judge, Colonel Tara Osborn.

Military code bars Hasan from pleading guilty to capital offenses, but he still could seek to plead guilty to some of the lesser charges on Tuesday, said retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Corn, an expert in military law.

"It is not uncommon in a military court for a person to plead guilty to a lower level of culpability, to get some mitigation before the jury," Corn, a law professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, said on Monday.

Corn said Osborn would be under no obligation to accept a guilty plea, but a guilty plea might be seen as accepting responsibility by the jury of military officers who will hear the case. Under military law, a death sentence could be imposed only if the jury is unanimous in the decision.

Jeffrey Addicott, former Army prosecutor and head of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University, does not believe Hasan will plead guilty to any charges.

"He will let the system play itself out," Addicott said on Monday.
 
The trial has been delayed several times, most recently for Osborn to decide whether Hasan could represent himself at trial and whether he could argue at trial that he was defending the Afghan Taliban when he opened fire.

Osborn has appointed Hasan's former defense attorneys to advise him on procedural issues and to be ready to step back in as his lawyers if necessary. She rejected his request to use a "defense of others" argument at trial.

Several issues remain to be addressed ahead of the trial including the questions to be used in jury selection and the witness lists. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on July 9 and opening statements no earlier than August 6.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kcentv.com/story/22743799/nidal-hasan-back-in-court-to-enter-pleas
Former U.S. Attorney Gen Ramsey Clark Offers to Represent Hasan
July 2, 2013

(KCEN) -- The accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan was back in court today to enter his pleas.

He refused to enter his pleas and requested three more days, because an attorney has offered to represent him.

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark offered to represent Hasan.

Clark previously represented Saddam Hussein and provided legal council for Slobodan Miloševiæ, former President of Serbia and accused war criminal.
 
Hasan wanted the three extra days so that Ramsey could prepare his case.

Judge Col Tara Osborn denied Hasan's request for the extra time.

Judge Osborn said, "Your request is untimely, and it is an obstruction to the efficient administration on this court."

The judge said that Clark could represent Hasan, but needed to be ready by the time jury selection started.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-nidal-hasan-not-guilty-plea-ft-hood-20130702,0,5256119.story
Judge enters not-guilty plea for Nidal Hasan in Ft. Hood case
July 2, 2013


This undated file photo provided by the Bell County Sheriff's Department via the Temple Daily Telegram shows Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 mass shooting at Ft. Hood. ( Associated Press)

A military judge entered a not-guilty plea Tuesday for Ft. Hood massacre suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who is accused of the worst mass shooting ever at a U.S. military base.

The Army psychiatrist, who is acting as his own attorney, had refused to enter a plea after the judge rejected his earlier attempts to plead guilty. Military law does not allow a guilty plea in a death penalty case.

In a pretrial hearing, the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, also denied Hasan's request for more time to decide whether to hire a new attorney. Hasan, 42, had asked for three more days to talk to Ramsey Clark, who served as U.S. attorney general under President Johnson, about an offer to serve as his defense lawyer, the Associated Press reported.

Osborn told Hasan he could hire a new lawyer only if he or she was ready for trial by July 9, when jury selection begins. She has also told Hasan’s former attorneys to stand by to help him if he asks for it.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/hasan-still-deciding-whether-to-hire-former-attorn/nYdDz/
Hasan still deciding whether to hire former attorney general
July 3, 2013

Maj. Nidal Hasan is still deciding whether to hire former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark to represent him in his upcoming court-martial, scheduled to begin Tuesday.
The two spoke by telephone today and plan to speak again Thursday, Clark told the American-Statesman.
“I’m prepared to represent him period,” said Clark, who has represented dictators and accused war criminals, including former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, alleged former Nazi concentration camp guard Karl Linnas and Saddam Hussein. “It is up to him.”
Last month, Hasan decided to represent himself during the court-martial, at which he faces the death penalty on 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5, 2009, mass shooting at Fort Hood. Two years ago, he fired his civilian attorney without explanation and in June won permission to dismiss his three military-appointed lawyers, who remain on the case to provide procedural advice.
Hasan clashed with his military lawyers over his intent to claim he was justified in killing American soldiers because he was protecting Taliban leaders in Afghanistan from imminent and illegal violence. When his military lawyers balked at putting on such a defense, Hasan decided to represent himself, he has said in court hearings. Military judge Col. Tara Osborn later barred such a defense strategy.
In representing himself, Hasan would directly cross-examine victims and witnesses, which has angered many of the Fort Hood soldiers who likely will be called to testify during the court-martial.
But during a court appearance Tuesday, Hasan told military judge Col. Tara Osborn that Clark had offered to represent him and asked for a delay of three days to explore the possibility. Osborn told Hasan he was free to hire any lawyer he wanted, but said jury selection scheduled for Tuesday would not be delayed.
 
Clark said he doesn’t think it’s likely Osborn would reverse her decision on allowing Hasan’s preferred defense strategy, even if he takes the case.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/hasan-to-direct-his-own-defense-during-jury-select/nYjPg/
Hasan to direct his own defense during jury selection
July 8, 2013

American-Statesman Staff
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark said Monday that he will not be representing Maj. Nidal Hasan, charged in the Fort Hood shootings, when jury selection begins Tuesday afternoon in his long-awaited court-martial.
Clark had offered his services to Hasan and met with him at the Bell County Jail over the weekend and on Monday to discuss the case. Clark said there is a chance he could step in once the trial begins in August. “The trial phase, I think that’s open,” he told the American-Statesman. Until then, Clark said he would perform some legal work for Hasan.
That means barring any last-minute change Hasan will direct his own defense during the jury selection phase, posing questions to potential members of the panel. Under the orders governing his case, the panel will be made up of at least 13 Army officers at a rank higher than Hasan.
Jury selection could take several weeks, and opening statements are scheduled to begin Aug. 6.
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/Fort-Hood-suspect-says-he-supports-Taliban-214954621.html
Fort Hood suspect says he supports Taliban
July 10, 2013

FORT HOOD (AP) –– The Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 deadly Fort Hood shooting rampage told some potential jurors Wednesday that he supports the Taliban and the strict Islamic Sharia law.
Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is serving as his own attorney in his court-martial, asked questions of individual Army officers on the second day of jury selection. On Tuesday after the first group of 20 potential jurors arrived, he declined to ask questions.
 
In answering Hasan's questions, several potential jurors said they had negative views of Muslims, the Quran or Sharia law. But they said they could put aside those views and only consider evidence in the case.
Hasan told one colonel that Abdulhakim Muhammad, sentenced to life in prison for the June 2009 fatal shooting of a soldier outside a Little Rock, Ark., military recruiting station, was his "brother and friend." He asked if that would affect her ability to serve, and she said no.
The military judge, Col. Tara Osborn, told Hasan several times to rephrase his questions and avoid referring to himself, saying he was acting as an attorney and would be held to the same standards. She reminded him that he was not testifying.
A 13- to 16-member jury — with ranks equal to or higher than Hasan's — will be chosen for his court-martial. Death-penalty cases in the military require at least 12 jury members, more than in other cases. And unlike other trials, their verdict must be unanimous in finding guilt or assessing a sentence.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kwtx.com/ourtown/home/headlines/Fort-Hood--Hasan-Trial-Forces-Fort-Hood-Gate-Closures-214792601.html
Fort Hood: Hasan Trial Forces Fort Hood Gate Closures
July 10, 2013

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/Court-denies-Fort-Hood-suspect-access-to-evidence-215115731.html
Court denies Fort Hood suspect access to evidence
July 11, 2013

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly mass shooting at Fort Hood cannot obtain evidence obtained through secret electronic surveillance.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans also denied Maj. Nidal Hasan's motion to suppress the evidence the government plans to use against him. The court's decision Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling issued before Hasan recently began serving as his own attorney.

The appeals court said denying Hasan access to evidence obtained through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA (FY'-suh), doesn't violate his legal rights.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/state&id=9172618
Jury selection continuing in Fort Hood trial
July 15, 2013

FORT HOOD, TX -- The Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 deadly Fort Hood shooting rampage told some potential jurors Wednesday that he supports the Taliban and the strict Islamic Sharia law.
Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is serving as his own attorney in his court-martial, asked questions of individual Army officers on the second day of jury selection. On Tuesday after the first group of 20 potential jurors arrived, he declined to ask questions.

 

In answering Hasan's questions, several potential jurors said they had negative views of Muslims, the Quran or Sharia law. But they said they could put aside those views and only consider evidence in the case.

Hasan told one colonel that Abdulhakim Muhammad, sentenced to life in prison for the June 2009 fatal shooting of a soldier outside a Little Rock, Ark., military recruiting station, was his "brother and friend." He asked if that would affect her ability to serve, and she said no.

The military judge, Col. Tara Osborn, told Hasan several times to rephrase his questions and avoid referring to himself, saying he was acting as an attorney and would be held to the same standards. She reminded him that he was not testifying.

A 13- to 16-member jury -- with ranks equal to or higher than Hasan's -- will be chosen for his court-martial. Death-penalty cases in the military require at least 12 jury members, more than in other cases. And unlike other trials, their verdict must be unanimous in finding guilt or assessing a sentence.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/215572091.html
Jury selected to try Fort Hood shooting suspect
July 16, 2013

 

The last of thirteen officers who will decide Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's fate were seated Tuesday, after more than a week of jury selection. Hasan is to go on trial starting Aug. 6.

He is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for the 2009 shooting rampage at the Army post in Central Texas. He faces the death penalty if convicted of murder.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that the panel includes two officers who expressed skepticism about the death penalty, though they were not as opposed to capital punishment as two others dismissed Tuesday.

[MuffyBee]

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/outrage-accused-fort-hood-shooters-300k-pay-spurs/story?id=19747530
Outrage Over Accused Fort Hood Shooter's $300K Pay Spurs Legislation
July 23, 2013

For the nearly four years since Army Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly gunned down more than a dozen American servicemen, U.S. taxpayers have continued to pay his salary -- to the tune of around $300,000 so far. But new legislation, called the "Stop Pay for Violent Offenders Act" and introduced Monday in the House of Representatives, would authorize the military to suspend pay for Hasan and other members of the military for any capital or sex-related offense.

Current law allows the military to suspend the pay of civilian employees, but an Army spokesperson told ABC News last month that it cannot stop paying Hasan, who is still officially in the Army, at his usual pay grade unless he's convicted. Hasan has admitted to shooting his fellow soldiers, saying in June that the Nov. 5, 2009 attack on Fort Hood in Texas was done in the "defense of others," in his case, the Taliban. Hasan has repeatedly refused to enter a plea, so earlier this month the military pleaded "not guilty" for him

While Hasan continues to draw about $80,000 per year, many of the Fort Hood victims say they've been denied financial and medical benefits due to the military's refusal to categorize the massacre as an act of terrorism, instead discussing it as "workplace violence."
In addition to his recent admission about his support for the Taliban, soon after the shooting, evidence emerged showing that Hasan was in communication with al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki prior to the attack. But in a letter in late May, a top Army attorney said that "the available evidence in this case does not, at this time, support a finding that the shooting at Fort Hood was an act of international terrorism."

The new legislation is cosponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Virg.), Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.), and Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), who served in the military at Fort Hood before entering politics.

Griffin says it's "particularly troubling" that the Hasan case has taken so long to come to trial, enabling the alleged shooter to draw his salary for such a long time.

After many delays, Hasan's trial is set to get under way on August 6. He is charged with premeditated murder and attempted murder. He is acting as his own attorney, but according to Wolf, the military is footing the bill for legal advisors to assist him in his defense.

According to local news reports, Hasan's court martial has cost the Army about $4 million in personnel and other expenditures.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Fort-Hood-shootings-suspect-issues-statement-217253471.html
Fort Hood suspect: US at war with Islam
July 27, 2013

 
It's the first statement Maj. Nidal Hasan has put out to the U.S. media. In the past, he has spoken via telephone with Al-Jazeera, the transcript of which is evidence in his upcoming trial.
"My complicity was on behalf of a government that openly acknowledges that it would hate for the law of Almighty Allah to be the supreme law of the land," Hasan said in the lengthy statement released to Fox News on Saturday. He then says in reference to a war on Islam, "I participated in it."
Hasan, 42, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 attack at the Texas Army post. His trial is scheduled to start Aug. 6. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
The American-born Muslim is serving as his own attorney and has made similar declarations during pre-trial hearings and jury selection. Fox News reported that Hasan didn't directly address the shooting in his statement, which it said is more than six pages long.
Hasan also said in the statement that he regrets serving in the Army.
"I would like to begin by repenting to Almighty Allah and apologize to the Mujahideen, the believers, and the innocent. ... I ask for their forgiveness for participating in the illegal and immoral aggression against Muslims, their religion and their lands," he told Fox News in the statement.
Hasan also has objected to the judge's denial of his "defense of others" strategy, which must show that killing was necessary to prevent the immediate harm or death of others. Col. Tara Osborn has barred him from telling jurors that he shot U.S. troops because they were an imminent threat to Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.
At a hearing earlier this month, Hasan, who is paralyzed from the abdomen down after being shot by police the day of the Fort Hood shooting, said he wanted jurors to know that he was being forced to wear a camouflage uniform that he believes represents "an enemy of Islam."

[MuffyBee]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-fort-hood-nidal-hasan-fox-news-20130727,0,6012911.story
Ft. Hood shooting suspect rails at U.S. in statement to Fox News
July 30, 2013

WASHINGTON -- Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist on trial in the 2009 shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, on Saturday accused the United States of being at war with Islam, outlining his complaints in an statement he sent to Fox News.

"My complicity was on behalf of a government that openly acknowledges that it would hate for the law of Almighty Allah to be the supreme law of the land," the network quoted Hasan as saying.
 
Hasan did not directly address the Ft. Hood shootings in the statement, which the network said runs more than six pages.

Hasan's motivation for releasing the statement is unclear. But Geoffrey Corn, a retired lieutenant colonel and professor at South Texas College of Law, said Hasan probably had "come to the realization that he’s not going to be given the freedom to raise this theory in the trial … and the frustration is starting to boil over.’’

Opening statements in the court-martial are set for Aug. 6.

Richard Rosen, a retired colonel and law professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, said the statement was unlikely to help Hasan and could hurt his case.

The government `can certainly use the statement to help establish that Hasan's acts were premeditated, although the evidence of premeditation was already overwhelming,'' Rosen said.

"I do not believe that his statement will do anything to help him during the sentencing phase of trial; the panel members will almost certainly reject Hasan's assertion that the U.S. is at war with Islam.’’

Neal Sher, a New York lawyer representing Ft. Hood shooting victims and their families, said the statement confirms "what, frankly, everybody has known about this guy, even well before the massacre took place: that he had jihadist beliefs.

"He’s making no secret about what his motivation was.’’

[MuffyBee]

 



http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/fort-hood-officer-who-shot-hasan-unable-to-testify/nY9Pw/
Fort Hood officer who shot Hasan unable to testify because of medical condition
 July 31, 2013

FORT HOOD — The former Fort Hood police officer who shot and paralyzed Maj. Nidal Hasan, ending the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting massacre, won’t be able to testify during Hasan’s court-martial because of a medical condition that has left him unable to speak clearly.
Fort Hood officials would give no details on Mark Todd’s condition, but prosecutors want to introduce his testimony from a 2010 evidentiary hearing in place of live testimony. Military judge Col. Tara Osborn ordered prosecutors to present evidence of Todd’s incapacitation at a Friday pre-trial hearing. Opening statements are scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Hasan, who is acting as his own attorney, told Osborn that “my understanding is that (Todd) can comprehend clearly, but just can’t articulate very well.”
Todd left Fort Hood two years ago in advance of budget cuts that would have eliminated his position. He worked as a contractor overseas, before returning to the U.S., officials said.
According to testimony in the 2010 Article 32 hearing, Todd fired the shots that finally stopped Hasan, leaving the Army psychiatrist paralyzed from the chest down.

 

On Wednesday, Hasan once again offered to admit to the shootings to save prosecutors from having to put on evidence of the crimes, including autopsy photos and crime scene videos. Prosecutors did not take Hasan up on his offer, preferring to proceed with their case. Hasan is unable to plead guilty because military rules require not guilty pleas on charges that could bring the death penalty.
Osborn also ruled on the admissability of several pieces of evidence. She said prosecutors won’t be able to refer to Hasan’s emails with now deceased Al Qaeda-linked cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki during opening statements, saying she worried about “guilt by association.” She said she would rule during the trial on whether prosecutors will be able to admit them as part of their case.

Osborn also prohibited prosecutors from introducing photos taken at the scene of deceased victims with times of death scrawled on their foreheads. But she did allow cropped autopsy photos that don’t show “distorted facial expressions,” as well as crime scene video and dashcam video taken from former Fort Hood police officer Kimberly Munley’s cruiser. Munley, the first officer to arrive on the scene, was shot several times by Hasan, but saved by Todd’s shots, according to previous testimony.
Osborn also allowed three 911 calls to be introduced as evidence, including one which captures the dying gasps of Pfc. Michael Pearson.
 

[cw618]

i must be missing something here,the guy is found sane to stand trial
he attacked and killed fellow service men,that in its self is an act of terrorism
and the world dosent like the radical islamic terrorists, so what,WTH does
that have to do with any reasoning for his actions, what he did was out and
out terrorism on his fellow service men, if i had a vote in it,it would be the
death penalty,as always JMO

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-fort-hood-nidal-hasan-fox-news-20130727,0,6012911.story
Ft. Hood shooting suspect rails at U.S. in statement to Fox News
July 30, 2013

WASHINGTON -- Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist on trial in the 2009 shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, on Saturday accused the United States of being at war with Islam, outlining his complaints in an statement he sent to Fox News.

"My complicity was on behalf of a government that openly acknowledges that it would hate for the law of Almighty Allah to be the supreme law of the land," the network quoted Hasan as saying.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-military/hasan-renounces-us-citizenship/nZBjj/
Hasan renounces U.S. citizenship
August 1, 2013

FORT HOOD — Days before he’s set to go on trial, the Army psychiatrist charged in the Fort Hood shooting rampage released more of his writings about America and Islam.
Foxnews.com on Thursday posted documents in which Maj. Nidal Hasan renounced his U.S. citizenship and soldier’s oath and denounced democracy. Hasan is charged in the November 2009 rampage that killed 13 soldiers and wounded more than 30 people at Fort Hood. His court-martial is scheduled to start Tuesday.
The renunciation of U.S. citizenship is contained in a handwritten note dated Oct. 18, 2012, Fox News reported. A typewritten note that does not have a date says it is not “permissible” for someone to prefer American democracy over traditional Islamic Sharia law, the network also reported. Hasan wrote that Muslims should not “compromise their beliefs” for the sake of non-Muslims.
Hasan also wrote about Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical U.S.-born Islamic cleric killed by a drone strike in Yemen in 2011. The government has said that Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim, had sent more than a dozen emails to al-Awlaki starting in December 2008. Hasan described al-Awlaki as his “teacher, mentor and friend,” Fox News reported.
The documents were released by Hasan through his attorney for civil issues, John Galligan. The Belton attorney confirmed to The Associated Press that he provided the writings to Fox News at Hasan’s direction. Galligan said his client did not authorize release of the documents to other news media outlets.
 

Among the comments:

Posted by Claire-Standish at 10:42 p.m. Aug. 1, 2013 Report Abuse
A person who is representing himself has a fool for a client. Serving as your own lawyer does not make you a lawyer. Reporting Fox News' right-wing drivel as fact will get an honest newspaper in trouble.

Nidal Hasan has not left Texas for a foreign nation lately, and the only way an American citizen can renounce his citizenship is if he or she is physically located in a foreign country. See Section 349(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5)), the law governing the right of a United States citizen to renounce his or her U.S. citizenship. Under the statute cited, the only way a renunciation of citizenship can be effective is by "making a formal renunciation of nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state, in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State." Id.

The State Department's website discussing renunciation stresses that all elements of the law must be met: "A person wishing to renounce his or her U.S. citizenship must voluntarily and with intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship:

-- "appear in person before a U.S. consular or diplomatic officer,
-- "in a foreign country (normally at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate); and
-- "sign an oath of renunciation

"Renunciations that do not meet the conditions described above have no legal effect. Because of the provisions of Section 349(a)(5), U.S. citizens cannot effectively renounce their citizenship by mail, through an agent, or while in the United States. In fact, U.S. courts have held certain attempts to renounce U.S. citizenship to be ineffective on a variety of grounds ... " (emphasis added). See http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_776.html for more detail.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/texas/article/Fort-Hood-and-the-rarity-of-military-executions-4704864.php
Fort Hood and the rarity of military executions
August 3, 2013

(2 pgs)

Also 9 images.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/jury-seated-in-hasan-trial-opening-statements-begi/nZD7b/
Jury seated in Hasan trial; opening statements begin Tuesday
August 5, 2013

FORT HOOD — The 13-officer jury that will decide the fate of accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan was seated Monday morning in advance of opening statements scheduled for Tuesday morning.
The jury panel, made up of nine colonels, three lieutenant colonels and one major, underwent one last round of questioning from military judge Col. Tara Osborn. None of the officers were challenged by prosecutors or Hasan, who is representing himself during the trial.
Osborn told jurors that the trial would last at least a month and perhaps “several months.”
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/218378111.html
Hasan Pre-Trial Hearing Sets Stage For Tuesday Court Martial
August 5, 2013

FORT HOOD (August 5, 2013)—An Army judge reviewed issues with court martial panel members Monday to set the stage for Tuesday’s beginning of the trial for Fort Hood gunman Army Maj. Nidal Hasan.

Judge Col. Tara Osborn reviewed each panel member individually on Monday and set times for Tuesday’s trial.

Government prosecutors, Hasan and his supporting and defense lawyers were ordered to be at the courthouse at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday and panel members were directed to be on hand at 9 a.m. when opening statements from both the prosecution and the defense.

The trial could last several weeks.

As well the president of the court martial panel was selected from the group.

Decorum dictates the president be the highest ranking member of the panel, in this case a female Army colonel.

She is one of only two women who were selected to serve on the jury.

Osborn questioned each member of the panel to ensure they had not been influenced by pre-trial coverage of the event and asked each one if they still felt they could serve on the 13-member panel.

As each one answered yes, there were no objections from either the government or Hasan, who is acting as his own lawyer.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/Fort-Hood-survivors-to-face-gunman-at-trial-218411511.html
Fort Hood survivors to face gunman at trial
August 5, 2013


Credit: Bell County Sheriff
Maj. Nidal Hasan is charged with the November 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 32 others wounded.