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The military trial for the Army psychiatrist accused in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage began under heavy security on Tuesday at the Texas base, and it seems likely to unfold as a faceoff between the gunman and his victims.

A military prosecutor opened the trial by saying that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan planned to "kill as many soldiers as he could."

Col. Steve Henricks said prosecutors would show that Hasan picked the date of the attack -- Nov. 5, 2009 -- for a specific reason, though Henricks didn't immediately reveal details.

Hasan is representing himself at the court-martial as he faces charges of murder and attempted murder for the attack that left 13 people dead. Over the next several weeks, he is expected to deliver an opening statement, to question witnesses and possibly present his own evidence.

On the witness stand will be many of the more than 30 people who were wounded, plus dozens of others who were inside the post's Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where some service members were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. They said they saw Hasan shout "Allahu akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is great!" -- and open fire on unarmed fellow soldiers.

Hasan has never denied carrying out the attack, and the facts of the case are mostly settled. But questions abound about how the trial will play out. How will Hasan question his victims? How will victims

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/06/fort-hood-trial-brings-together-attacker-victims/#ixzz2bClDTLkW

On the eve of his military trial, accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has released to Fox News two pages of the “Full Report of Sanity Board, US v. MAJ Nidal M. Hasan.” The military “Sanity Board” determines whether an individual is mentally responsible for his actions.

Described as a “forensic evaluation,” the exam was conducted by a three-member panel. It took place at Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas on December 7-9, 2010, more than a year after the massacre at the military base.

Based on the excerpt, a full report dated January 13, 2011, was released to the defense, but only a summary to the prosecution.The 42 year-old Army major is now facing 13 counts of murder, and 32 counts of attempted murder from the November 5, 2009 attack.

Attorney John Galligan, who is handling civil matters for Hasan, confirmed the authenticity of the documents, and that they were specifically released to Fox News.

“Major Hasan has directed me to release the attached portions of the Sanity Board report prepared in his case,” Galligan said. “… He reserves the right to release it to other news media outlets, but has not done so at this time.”

The documents released to Fox News (page 1 and parts of page 25)are part of a 49-page report marked “private and confidential.”

While the released excerpt does not specifically address the shooting, it could offer insights into Hasan’s radicalization.

According to these documents, Hasan states that his “journey to Islam” began after his mother died in May of 2001.The American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who would eventually become the first American targeted for death by the CIA, was the Imam of the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, where Hasan’s mother’s funeral was held.

The Falls Church mosque was where their two lives intersected.

In other handwritten documents released to Fox News last week, Hasan referred to Awlaki as a “teacher, mentor and friend.” Awlaki posted a comment on his website days after the Fort Hood massacre calling Hasan a “hero.”

As part of its ongoing reporting of the Fort Hood shooting over the past several years, Fox News has also reported on events that suggested al-Awlaki was both a facilitator and a spiritual advisor to at least three of the 9/11 hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which slammed into the Pentagon. He helped the hijackers while serving as an imam in San Diego, California in 2000 and Falls Church in 2001.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/05/accused-fort-hood-shooter-releases-excerpts-from-his-sanity-board-hearing/#ixzz2bDH9fUy9

Almost every day, two Army helicopters land at the Bell County Jail to pick up the man known as the “inmate of high value."

Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who's accused of gunning down dozens of fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, is that inmate.

The Army helicopters carry Hasan about 20 miles into Fort Hood so he can work on his legal defense.

Since there is no jail at the Army post, Bell County Sheriff Eddy Lange houses Hasan at the Bell County Jail under a special Army contract in a special room the Army equipped to accommodate Hasan’s injuries suffered when he was shot by police officers responding to the attack.

“Every time Mr. Hasan is moved to Fort Hood we incur additional security costs at our facility,” said Lange.

Records obtained by NBC 5 Investigates show the Army pays Bell County roughly $15,000 a month to keep Hasan at their jail.  Lange said the money does not cover the cost of security for the helicopter rides, which now require the sheriff’s department to go on lockdown twice a day to secure the perimeter.

When the choppers land, Lange said he needs to deploy snipers because Hasan is such a security risk.

Lange estimates the helicopter rides cost his department $800 per landing, twice a day, and Bell County taxpayers are footing the bill.

Lange added that the $1,600 figure didn’t include the cost of the flight crew or fuel.

“I don't have any idea what that would be, but it's astronomical,” Lange said. “We are losing money every day he is in our facility.”

NBC 5 Investigates filed a Freedom of Information Act request in February asking for Army records detailing Hasan's transportation expenses, but nearly six months later the Army has not provided the documents and will not say how much the rides cost or answer any questions about the helicopter rides citing security concerns as the reason.

There's no doubt Hasan is a security risk. Law enforcement officials said there have been threats against Hasan as well as threats made by his supporters.   With threats from both sides, it’s easy to wonder why the Army would move him so frequently.

When asked why Hasan is moved so frequently, Lange smiled and said he wasn’t qualified to answer that question.  The Army said the jail doesn't have the right facilities for him to prepare his defense, especially now that he's representing himself.

Hasan's trial is set to begin Tuesday after more than three years of delays, including arguments over whether he could grow a beard – which a military judge allowed in spite of military rules.

The sheriff and other local police departments said they were happy to do their part when Hasan was arrested, they just never imagined it would go on this long.

“I don't think anybody had any idea this thing would drag out for three and a half years,” said Gene Ellis, Chief of the Belton Police Department.

The Army psychiatrist behind the shooting rampage at Fort Hood nearly four years ago called himself a "mujahideen" in a short and unrepentant opening statement at his military trial, which will likely feature the bizarre spectacle of him questioning his own victims.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who is serving as his own attorney, began his court martial with an opening statement less than two minutes long and didn't bother to cross-examine any of the early witnesses as the military trial began under heavy security at the Texas base. He faces the death penalty for the Nov. 5, 2009 rampage, in which 13 people were killed and where witnesses said Hasan yelled "Alahu Akhbar!" as he sprayed gunfire at unarmed fellow soldiers.

"The evidence presented in this trial will only show one side, that I was on the wrong side, and then I switched sides," Hasan said. "We the Mujahideen are imperfect Muslims trying to establish the perfect religion in the land of the supreme god."

Hasan said "the evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter. The dead bodies will show that war is an ugly thing."

It was not clear how the 42-year-old Hasan plans to fashion his stance into a defense. Hasan had wanted to argue that he shot U.S. troops to protect Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, but the judge forbade the American-born Muslim and former Army psychiatrist from using that defense. Three witnesses took the stand after opening arguments, including the manager of the store Guns Galore, where Hasan had purchased the Glock 27 model 5.7 handgun used in the attack.

"Almost every trip I can remember was always [for] ammunition and magazines, extensions and at one point an additional laser,"  David Cheadle testified.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/06/fort-hood-trial-brings-together-attacker-victims/#ixzz2bDRhhpTh

The trial of the Fort Hood gunman, who is acting as his own attorney, took a surreal turn as the former Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 in the November 2009 attack grilled witnesses -- including his former boss in the military and a fellow Muslim who spoke to him the day of the shooting.

After a short opening statement in which ex-Army Maj. Nidal Hasan called himself a "mujahedeen," admitted to the rampage and said "the dead bodies will show that war is an ugly thing," Hasan cross-examined prosecution witnesses, including retired Lt. Col Ben Kirk Phillips, his former boss. When pressed by the defendant, Phillips acknowledged that his officer evaluation report had graded Hasan as "outstanding."

But he declined to cross-examine one of his shooting victims, Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford, who provided the day’s most damning testimony.

Lunsford – who was shot seven times during the incident – described what happened that day, saying he first saw Hasan sitting in a chair, with his arms on his knees while looking at the floor.

He said Hasan then jumped up and ordered the one civilian in the room to leave before shouting, “Allahu akbar” and opening fire. Panic set in among the soldiers, who crowded toward a rear door, which was jammed.

Lunsford said he sprinted for the door at one point while Hasan was shooting, then turned around to see the gunman’s laser sight pointing at him before being shot in the head. Lunsford testified he tried to appear dead, then later decided to flee because, "dead men don't sweat."

He then made another sprint for the door as he was shot six more times before being pulled to safety.

Earlier, Hasan cross-examined Pat Sonti, who met Hasan at the Killeen Islamic Center in Fort Hood the morning of the shooting. Sonti said Hasan took the microphone at the mosque and called for prayer.

“After call to prayer, he bid goodbye and told the congregation he was going home," Sonti said. "I found that odd.”

Hasan asked Sonti to describe the difference between the call for prayer and actual prayer, then asked who is supposed to lead the call.

"Whoever the imam looks at," replied Sonti. "But you know that, sir."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/06/fort-hood-trial-brings-together-attacker-victims/#ixzz2bIM3MmJS

On the same day he stood up and told a packed Fort Hood court room that the “evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter, ” Major Nidal Hasan, who is acting as his own attorney, exclusively turned over to Fox News another page of the “Full Report of Sanity Board, US v. MAJ Nidal M. Hasan” that reveals how the accused gunman initially considered killing soldiers at Ft. Benning, Ga.

Fox News has now reviewed three pages of the 49-page document, which details the findings of an examination of Hasan to determine whether he was mentally fit to stand trial.  It was conducted by a three-member panel at Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas in December 2010.

Hasan directed his attorney in civil matters, John Galligan, to turn over the latest document, page 26 of the report, to Fox News which has repeatedly requested interviews with Hasan in its ongoing reporting.

Galligan said, “I have been instructed to provide you with the next page (26) of the Narrative section in the Full Sanity Report."

 Hasan is facing 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder from the November 5, 2009 shooting. He is an Army psychiatrist who has served more than two decades in the U.S. military.

Key revelations from this page of the Sanity Board report include an explanation to the panel from Hasan on the timing of the attack, and that he considered other venues and that there was pre-meditation.

The Sanity Board states, “The defendant stated that he planned his course of action in regards to “violent acts against the military” in the days following his deployment notification. He initially considered driving to the deployment center at Ft. Benning during his pre-deployment leave to Virginia and shooting soldiers there.  He decided against that idea because he did not want to get caught in an unknown territory with weapons and ammunition in his car…

The report noted: “The defendant purchased a FN 5-7 Pistol as well as magazines and ammunition from Guns Galore on 1 August 2009.”   

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/06/ft-hood-shooter-first-considered-killing-soldiers-at-ft-benning-ga-report-says/#ixzz2bINlJu33

The court martial of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan was halted Wednesday after the attorneys advising him told a judge the former Army psychiatrist appears to be angling for the death penalty as he represents himself in the military trial.

One of the attorneys, Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, said he is willing to step in and serve as Hasan's attorney, a day after Hasan gave an opening argument that lasted less than two minutes and included an unambiguous admission that he "was the shooter" who killed 13 and injured 30 in the Nov. 5, 2009 attack at the Texas Army base. Hasan's court-appointed legal team is refusing to be part of a process in which Hasan seems determined to become a martyr, according to one former prosecutor experienced in terror cases.

    "This is his soapbox."

- Andrew McCarthy, former federal prosecutor

"This is his soapbox," said Andrew McCarthy, who, as a federal prosecutor made the government's case against the Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. "He’s really doing a performance to the world here, to the jihadists of the world here and secondly he wants to get their case out there.”

McCarthy predicted Hasan will get the death penalty, regardless of how his legal team feels.

“This is really one of these big wind, no rain moments in the sense that Hasan has the right to defend himself and was granted the right to defend himself," he said. "Standby counsel is kind of like just an advisor on the side. When you’re representing yourself, the court does not have to give you standby advisory counsel at all.  It’s something the court does as a precaution."

Hasan, who was left paralyzed in the attack, and is making his way around the courtroom in a wheelchair, didn't even bother to cross-examine several of the military's witnesses on Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/07/hasan-intent-on-getting-death-sentence-attorney-tells-military-judge/#ixzz2bJM28kqy

The military judge presiding over the court martial of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan could decide today whether to allow the former Army major to continue to defend himself, after his legal team expressed concerns he is trying to get the death penalty.

Defense attorneys who are helping the former soldier have accused him of trying to get jurors to convict him, while Hasan claims the attorneys are twisting the facts.

The apparent death wish of Hasan, which brought his court martial to a temporary halt Wednesday, came as no surprise to veteran prosecutors who have handled high-profile cases involving terrorists.

Hasan is representing himself but is advised by a team of attorneys appointed by the military court trying him for the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting at a Texas military base that left 13 dead and 30 injured. On Wednesday, members of his legal team told the military judge the former Army psychiatrist appears to be angling for the death penalty as he represents himself in the military trial.

One of the attorneys, Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, said he is willing to step in and serve as Hasan's attorney, a day after Hasan gave an opening argument that lasted less than two minutes and included an unambiguous admission that he "was the shooter" who killed 13 and injured 30 in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack at the Texas Army base. Hasan's court-appointed legal team is refusing to be part of a process in which Hasan seems determined to become a martyr, according to one former prosecutor experienced in terror cases.

Hasan, who was left paralyzed in the attack, and is making his way around the courtroom in a wheelchair, didn't even bother to cross-examine several of the military's witnesses on Tuesday.

A day later, just minutes after testimony began, Judge Col. Tara Osborn cleared the courtroom and later said the trial would be in recess until Thursday so she can consider Poppe's motion.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/08/ft-hood-shooter-back-in-court-after-military-judge-considers-death-wish/?test=latestnews#ixzz2bO6IA520

Attorneys who are advising the soldier accused in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage have been allowed to leave trial for the day so they can challenge the judge's refusal to scale back their duties.

Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan is representing himself as he faces numerous charges for the attack on the Texas military base that left 13 dead and 30 injured.

The military lawyers ordered to help Hasan believe he is trying to win himself a death sentence. They said supporting such a "repugnant" defense strategy violates their rules of professional conduct, and asked the judge to scale back their duties or let them take over the case.

But Col. Tara Osborn, the judge presiding over the case, refused their request Thursday. But she's allowing two of the three attorneys to spend Friday preparing an appeal to her ruling.

Meanwhile, more emotional testimony is expected Friday in the court-martial of Hasan, who a day earlier sat emotionless as witnesses and victims described a horrific scene of blood and chaos during his shooting rampage at Fort Hood.

Hasan declined to cross-examine any of those who took the stand Thursday at his court martial despite a ruling by the military judge earlier in the day that he could continue to represent himself.

The lawyers assisting Hasan, called "standby attorneys," claim he is trying to get the death penalty and have said it would be "morally repugnant" to help him achieve such a sentence. Hasan admitted in his opening statement that he was the shooter, appearing to be trying to get himself convicted.

Osborn said Thursday she believes this is "nothing more than their disagreement with Major Hasan's trial strategy," and ruled that the defense attorneys are required to stay on the case. The ruling prompted Hasan's lawyers to say they would appeal, claiming the judge was forcing them to violate professional rules of conduct.

Hasan's apparent death wish, which brought his court-martial to a temporary halt Wednesday, came as no surprise to veteran prosecutors who have handled high-profile cases involving terrorists.

Hasan is representing himself, but is advised by a team of attorneys appointed by the military court trying him for the Nov. 5, 2009,

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/09/emotional-witness-testimony-expected-in-day-4-fort-hood-gunman-trial/?test=latestnews#ixzz2bV1VY5bF

    Sgt 1st Class Maria Guerra told court how she tried to save as many as she could in the aftermath of the Fort Hood shootings

    Maj Nidal Hasan is representing himself at the trial where he is accused of killing 13 and wounding more than 30 others

    Hasan, now paralyzed after being shot in the back by first responders during the attack, faces the death penalty

    Judge already ruled that he could not say he opened fire 'in defense of others', as he argued that he was saving the Taliban in Afghanistan

By Associated Press Reporter

PUBLISHED: 14:23 EST, 9 August 2013 | UPDATED: 14:46 EST, 9 August 2013

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The soldier knew she had to decide quickly who she could save, so she grabbed a black marker and wrote a 'D' on the foreheads of the dead. To people lingering over those killed amid the chaos of the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, she shouted: 'You need to move on!'

Sgt. 1st Class Maria Guerra recalled those moments while testifying Thursday during the trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan. The Army psychiatrist is charged with killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others during a rampage at the sprawling Texas military base.

When prosecutors asked Guerra to describe the scene inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where she worked on the base, her voice began breaking.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2388270/Soldier-wrote-D-forehead-killed-Fort-Hood-work-chaotic-mass-bodies-blood-saved.html#ixzz2bax00rC2
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FORT HOOD, Texas –  An Army soldier was shot 12 times as he charged Maj. Nidal Hasan during the Fort Hood shooting rampage, it was revealed by a witness Thursday morning during Hasan's military trial.

Spc. Fredrick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tenn., was identified as the solider shot while he charged at Hasan. Greene was known as "Freddie" and was active at Baker's Gap Baptist Church in his hometown while he was growing up, Glenn Arney, the church's former superintendent and a former co-worker of Greene's, said shortly after the shooting.

"I went to church with him, knew him all of his life. He was one of the finest boys you ever saw," Arney said.

Dr. Phillip Berran said Thursday that he performed an autopsy on Greene and Pfc. Aaron Nemelka, 19, from West Jordan, Utah, who was the youngest soldier killed in the shooting and was apparently excited about his first deployment.

"He was proud to follow in the footsteps of both of his grandfathers, two of his uncles, and his cousin," Nemelka’s father, Michael, told the Wall Street Journal shortly after the shooting. "He felt it was his duty to stand with them in defense of our country."

So far, doctors who examined seven of the 13 killed have described how some showed signs that they were shot while lying on the floor.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/15/doctors-to-describe-bodies-in-fort-hood-massacre/?test=latestnews#ixzz2c3cdyJkb

Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hassan, on trial for a 2009 attack that left 13 dead and 300 wounded, Monday tried a self-defense tactic he rarely has used before: questioning a witness.

Hasan, who is representing himself at the military tribunal, has questioned only three of more than 80 witnesses called thus far.

On Monday he cross-examined Staff Sgt. Juan Alvarado, who said he saw  a gunfight between Hasan and Kimberly Munley, a Fort Hood police officer who responded to the shootings at the Texas military base.

 

Alvarado said Hasan tried to shoot Munley after she'd been shot and disarmed.

 

“Are you saying after it was clear that she was disarmed that I continued to fire at her?” Hasan asked.

“Yes,” Alvarado replied.

“No questions. No further questions,” Hasan said.

Earlier Monday, the judge overseeing the trial blocked prosecutors from using several witnesses and most evidence they'd sought to explain the motive behind the  attack.

Prosecutors had asked the military judge, Col. Tara Osborn, to approve evidence and several witnesses to explain the mindset of Hasan.

Such evidence included references to Hasan Akbar, a Muslim soldier sentenced to death for attacking fellow soldiers in Kuwait during the 2003 Iraq invasion. Prosecutors wanted to suggest a copycat motive.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/19/fort-hood-prosecutors-press-judge-to-allow-proof-hasan-motives-as-trial-enters/?test=latestnews#ixzz2cXXMeHig

Lawyers representing the family members of those killed and injured in the Ft. Hood shooting rampage were outraged today when an Army judge limited prosecutors from introducing evidence, including emails to a known Al Qaeda operative, that would establish accused shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan's "jihadi" motives.

The judge's rulings could inhibit the ability of the victims' families to claim in a civil suit that the shootings were an act of terror. Federal lawyers involved in the civil suit claim that the people shot during Hasan's murderous rage were victims of workplace violence, a designation that could sharply limit the damages in a civil suit.

"This is first degree mass murder case and motive is absolutely relevant to prove premeditation," said Neal Sher, a lawyer representing many of the victims and their family members in a separate civil suit against the government.

Prosecutors have sought to portray Hasan as a Muslim extremist, motivated by Islamist ideology and in touch with known al Qaeda member Anwar Alwaki.

"He didn't want to deploy and he came to believe he had a jihad duty to murder soldiers," lead prosecutor Col. Steve Henricks said in his opening statements. He wanted to "kill as many soldiers as he could."

The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, ruled today that prosecutors could not mention Hasan's correspondence with Alwaki, an American born al Qaeda recruiter and organizer. Osborn also barred prosecutors from mentioning Hassan's interest in seeking conscientious objector status and drawing parallels to a 2003 incident in which another Muslim American soldier attacked U.S. troops in Kuwait, according to the Associated Press.

The judge found much of that evidence was too old, but permitted prosecutors to introduce evidence about Hasan's internet usage and search history from the time of the attack.

FORT HOOD, Texas — The government rested its case against Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan on Tuesday, and the judge recessed until Wednesday morning – when Hasan has a chance to testify in his own defense.

Hasan, charged in the shooting deaths of 13 people and wounding of 32 others, is representing himself in the court-martial. It’s not clear if he will call any witnesses or interview himself; on Tuesday morning he told the judge that he did not plan to call Dr. Lewis Rambo, an expert on religious conversion whom Hasan had included on a witness list he submitted Friday.

The last prosecution witness Tuesday told the panel of military officers acting as a jury in the case that Hasan was frustrated about having to deploy to Afghanistan, and told a medical resident, “They will pay.”

Hasan had the conversation with Dr. Tonya Kozminski the weekend of Oct. 17, 2009, she said. A few days later, he sent an email to his supervisors expressing concern about the action of a soldier he was evaluating as a military psychiatrist, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Hasan sent a second, similar email two days before the shooting that left 13 people dead and 32 more injured at a predeployment clinic.

Hasan has admitted he was the shooter, and said he did it to protect Taliban leaders from soldiers who were about to deploy to Afghanistan. Hasan was also scheduled to deploy with some of the soldiers who were at the clinic that day.

In the emails released to the Times by Hasan’s civilian lawyer, Hasan expressed concern about a soldier who reported to him that American troops had poured 50 gallons of fuel into the Iraqi water supply as revenge; a case in which a soldier told him about a mercy killing of a severely injured insurgent by medics; and a soldier who spoke of killing an Iraqi woman because he was following orders to shoot anything that approached a specific site.

The Army never fully investigated his concerns. He has admitted that he opened fire in the clinic on Nov. 5, 2009, as part of a jihad to protect Taliban leaders from troops headed to Afghanistan.

“I think I need a lot of reassurance for the first few times I come across these,” Hasan wrote on Nov. 2, 2009, referencing the three cases that worried him. Below his e-mail signature, he included a quote from the Quran: “All praises and thanks go to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of all the worlds.”

Fort Hood, Texas — Army Maj. Nidal Hasan is sending only a single piece of evidence to the jury room when deliberations start about whether he is guilty of the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood: an evaluation from his boss that called him a good soldier.

Then there’s the trove military prosecutors are handing over.

Pill bottles that rattle with bullets removed from soldiers. Photos of Hasan prowling the outside of a Fort Hood medical building with a gun during the shooting. Jurors can even handle that gun, an FN 5.7 semi-automatic pistol, which Hasan volunteered belonged to him during the 12-day trial.

In all, the U.S government produced more than 700 pieces of evidence against Hasan, who hasn’t put up a fight against charges that he killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others in the deadliest mass shooting ever on a U.S. military base.

Jury deliberations were expected to start following closing arguments on Thursday. Hasan rested his case Wednesday without calling a single witnesses or testifying in his own defense, so it wasn’t clear Thursday morning if he planned to say anything.

But prosecutors used their closing argument to ask jurors, all high-ranking military officers, to unanimously convict Hasan of premeditated murder — which would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

The prosecutor, Col. Steve Henricks, said there was no doubt Hasan planned and carried out the attack. He noted that Hasan asked for the highest-tech weapon available when he went to a gun store a few months before the attack and then began practicing. Hasan also used laser sights, which Henricks said “established intent to kill.”

Although Hasan has remained mostly silent during his trial, he perked up Wednesday when talking about what he said that evidence doesn’t show: that the attack he admits to carrying out was somehow impulsive.

“I would like to agree with the prosecution that it wasn’t done under the heat of sudden passion,” Hasan told the judge after jurors had left for the day.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130822/NATION/308220045#ixzz2cikFuF8e

Fort Hood, Texas (CNN) -- [Breaking news alert, 1:37 p.m.]

A military jury has convicted Army Maj. Nidal Hasan of 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in a November 5, 2009, shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, making it possible for the death penalty to be considered as a possible punishment.

[Previous story, 1:27 p.m.]

Jury in Nidal Hasan court-martial resumes deliberations
Hasan trial: A suicide mission?
Fort Hood shooter rests his case
Nidal Hasan: 'I am the shooter'
Photos: Worst mass shootings in U.S. Photos: Worst mass shootings in U.S.

A military jury considering the fate of Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with massacring soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, resumed deliberations Friday morning in the death penalty case.

Hasan is charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in the November 5, 2009, shooting rampage at a deployment processing center where prosecutors say he targeted soldiers he was set to deploy with to Afghanistan.

A judge handed the case to the jury, a panel of 13 senior officers, on Thursday afternoon after 12 days of testimony in a court-martial where Hasan was acting as his own attorney.

After nearly three hours of deliberations, the panel asked to rehear the testimony of the police officer who shot Hasan, ending the rampage that left 13 people dead and dozens wounded.

Jurors also asked to see a map marked by the police officer, Mark Todd, indicating where he shot Hasan.

The questions appeared to indicate that the jury was evaluating the charge -- premeditated attempted murder -- against Hasan for firing at Todd, who was not wounded in the attack.

Later, the judge reconvened the court-martial so that the jury could ask two questions about paperwork, possibly indicating it is close to a verdict. The jury went back to its deliberations after it received the answers.

The jury began deliberations after Hasan declined to make a statement during closing arguments.

good!

Now make him dead.

 :P

FORT HOOD, Texas –  The Fort Hood shooter, an Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the November 2009 attack, faces the death penalty as the sentencing phase of his trial begins Monday.

Maj. Nidal Hasan showed no reaction after being found guilty last week by a military jury, which will now decide whether the Virginia-born Muslim who said he opened fire on unarmed soldiers at the Texas Army post to protect insurgents abroad should be executed.

Twelve of the dead were soldiers, including a pregnant private who pleaded for the unborn child's life. More than 30 others were wounded. Investigators collected more than 200 bullet casings at the site of the attack.

At the minimum, the 42-year-old Hasan will spend the rest of his life in prison.

"This is where members (of the jury) decide whether you will live or whether you will die," Col. Tara Osborn, the trial judge, told Hasan on Friday following his conviction.

She then again implored Hasan, who represented himself during the 14-day trial, to consider letting his standby attorneys take over for the sentencing phase. He declined.

Jurors deliberated for about seven hours before finding Hasan guilty on all counts. He gave them virtually no alternative, as he didn't present a defense or make a closing argument, and he only questioned three of the nearly 90 witnesses called by prosecutors.

FORT HOOD, Texas –  The military judge presiding over the court martial of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan warned the Army major that his life hangs in the balance as his trial entered the sentencing phase, but the self-professed "soldier of Allah" declined to let his court-appointed attorneys help him avoid a death sentence.

"You understand that you are staking your life on the decisions that you make," Col. Tara Osborn, the trial judge, told Hasan on Friday following his conviction. "Still wish to proceed pro se?"

"I do," Hasan replied.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the November 2009 attack, faces the death penalty as the sentencing phase of his trial begins Monday. But after admitting in opening arguments he was the killer, then barely bothering to question witnesses during the trial, it has become apparent that the Virginia-born Hasan could be seeking martyrdom.

Hasan showed no reaction after being found guilty last week by a military jury of opening fire on unarmed soldiers at the Texas Army post to protect insurgents abroad should be executed. Twelve of the dead were soldiers, including a pregnant private who pleaded for the unborn child's life. More than 30 others were wounded. Investigators collected more than 200 bullet casings at the site of the attack.

At the minimum, the 42-year-old Hasan, who was left paralyzed after being shot during his rampage, will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Osborn implored Hasan, who represented himself during the 14-day trial, to consider letting his standby attorneys take over for the sentencing phase. He declined.

Jurors deliberated for about seven hours before finding Hasan guilty on all counts. He gave them virtually no alternative, as he didn't present a defense or make a closing argument, and he only questioned three of the nearly 90 witnesses called by prosecutors.

Convicted Ft. Hood shooter Nidal Hasan gave the $300,000 collected in salary since 2009 to charity, leaving none for his victims or their families.

According to CBS News, an "Army spokesman [says] the military can't get the money back because Hasan, like any other service member charged with a crime," was simply receiving his salary as required until he was convicted.

Hasan's civil attorney John Gilligan added: "There's really no money in any bank that I'm aware of. There's really no property holdings."

In other words, the victims of Hasan's attack will not be getting any funds from their attacker.

While some say Hasan's salary only would have been a fraction of what was needed to begin with, his surviving victims stress the principle at stake. Retired Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford was shot seven times in the Ft. Hood attack, and he gave the following testimo