The attorney for condemned murderer Nidal M. Hasan, and a lot of his fellow travelers, are nearly stroking out over the possibility that the U.S. government might finally execute Hasan, even though he killed 13 soldiers and civilians and wounded 31 more at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, Texas, as they conducted pre- or post-deployment processing.
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“For the life of me, I don’t know what they are trying to accomplish in such a rush fashion … and by trying to conduct this execution at Fort Hood, when he has such medical issues,” said Hasan’s attorney John Galligan, a retired colonel and a former military judge. He also raised questions about how Hasan, who is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair, would be transported to Fort Hood because apparently no one in a wheelchair has ever moved by motor vehicle or aircraft.
According to exclusive reporting by Catherine Herridge, Mr. Galligan is very unhappy.
EXCLUSIVE: MAJOR HASAN CIVILIAN LAWYER REACTS
John Galligan, who among others has been the civilian attorney for Major Nidal Hasan since 2009, addressed his concerns about the notification process:
– Galligan said he was “surprised the Army would proceed with such dispatch to execute Hasan” given the failed execution of Christa Pike
– Galligan said he believes the notification to Hasan of the President’s decision to authorize execution apparently violated Army regulations
– Galligan says Hasan had no civilian, criminal or Trial Defense Service (TDS) lawyer present, as required by the Army regulations, for the notification process
AR 190-55 U.S. ARMY CORRECTIONS SYSTEM: PROCEDURES FOR MILITARY EXECUTIONS
Subsection 2-1 g. When the CMDT, USDB initially notifies the prisoner of the presidential decision to execute the prisoner’s death sentence, the CMDT will be accompanied by a chaplain, a Trial Defense Service (TDS) attorney or the prisoner’s civilian counsel (if reasonably available).
– Galligan says Hasan was notified at approximately 7pm the execution had been approved
– Galligan says he personally informed Hasan of the December execution date and location (Fort Hood) as well as the manner of execution by firing squad
– Galligan questions why the Army would transport Hasan, who is in a wheelchair and paralyzed from waist down, from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Hood for the execution
– Hasan has been on death row at Fort Leavenworth for more than a decade
– Galligan described “the transfer for execution as political theatre” and a “rush to execute Hasan” who he says has severe medical issues.
– Galligan also questions why President Biden gave countless pardons, including a preemptive pardon for Dr. Fauci, but apparently did not consider military personnel on death row including his client
– Galligan speculated that the alleged violation of Army regulations was unlikely to delay the execution, but said the process was “off to a very bad start”
– Galligan added that they are attempting to get Army legal assistance to finalize legal issues, including a will and disposition of remains, prior to execution
– I have asked DoW for a response to the claims and will keep you updated
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) October 7, 2026
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I’m sure that even a lawyer handling a traitorous scumbag like Hasan hates to lose a case, but in the process, beclowning yourself doesn’t help anyone.
If Tennessee had used a firing squad instead of an “all-female” execution team and a haphazard method, Christa Pike would not be here; see Tennessee’s Death Penalty Team Under Scrutiny After Christa Pike’s Botched Execution – RedState. I don’t know what the protocol will be for killing Hasan, but if Secretary of War Pete Hegseth went to the trouble of ordering transport to Fort Hood to face a firing squad, I’d be shocked if he didn’t face an actual firing squad. See Firing Squad, It Is: Trump Approves the Execution for An Enemy of the United States – RedState.
The whole issue of a regulation being violated is the worst sort of sophistry usually practiced by down-on-their-luck lawyers hustling drunks and hobos in night court.
The regulation says, “When the CMDT, USDB initially notifies the prisoner of the presidential decision to execute the prisoner’s death sentence, the CMDT will be accompanied by a chaplain, a Trial Defense Service (TDS) attorney or the prisoner’s civilian counsel (if reasonably available).” Read that carefully. It applies to the commandant of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks notifying Hasan. It does not apply to the president, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Army, or your Uncle Bob talking about it on social media. It doesn’t apply to the first time Hasan hears about it. It just doesn’t. The regulation requires the USDB commandant to handle the official notification.
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His complaint about having to notify Hasan of the date and method of execution is weaselly in the extreme. The regulation doesn’t specify how that information must be transmitted to the condemned. The regulation only covers notifying him that the president has decided it is check-out time. The assumption is that he will be told at some point. See We Now Know When and Where Nidal Hasan Will Be Executed — and There’s a Certain Poetic Justice to It – RedState.
For those who are curious, here is the regulation.
The Army doesn’t have to justify the time, manner, or place of the execution to anyone. In World War II, to stop an epidemic of rape by U.S. troops in liberated France, we actually hanged prisoners in public in the towns where the offenses occurred. If this execution is to have any greater meaning than merely ridding the earth of a vicious murderer, then Fort Hood is a logical location. In an ideal world, we’d sell tickets, auction the rights to be on the firing squad, and make it a pay-per-view offering.
Without doubt, the most amusing argument is “why didn’t Joe Biden pardon Hasan? Perhaps Biden thinks as little of Hasan as the rest of the country. Maybe he was just demented and forgetful. Who cares? See Joe Biden’s Autopen Left Four Men on the Military’s Death Row, It’s Time for Trump to Take Action – RedState,
The regulation is pretty clear that disposition of Hasan’s property and his fat, bullet-riddled corpse is a him problem, not an us problem. He is not entitled to military legal assistance for either.
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The one thing that Galligan is 100 percent correct about is that nothing on his silly list of complaints matters.
Other objections have risen from other quarters.
The procedures for execution in Army regulations do not contain specific protocols for particular methods of execution. Experts said in previous iterations of the firing squad — nearly 80 years ago — one shooter would be given a blank so they all could plausibly believe they had not fired the fatal shot.
Perhaps if your IQ was around 75 and you’d never fired a rifle before, that might make sense. If you have, it doesn’t. A blank doesn’t recoil. A blank doesn’t eject a shell casing. Besides, do you think anyone winning the lotto and getting to kill Hasan would want to be known forever as the guy with the blank on that firing squad?
South Carolina spent about $54,000 to renovate its death chamber for the firing squad.
Tell me you’ve never been to Fort Hood without telling me you’ve never been to Fort Hood. Do you have any idea how much empty real estate is there? And how many rifle ranges? Or, if the event takes place indoors, how many people are available to fill sandbags? You can rest assured, not a penny will be spent on this project, because it would let Hasan have something like a win.
“What happens now, is if Dr. Hasan decides he wants to resist execution, he can go to federal civilian court for a Habeas Corpus petition … and that can last years,” said Eugene R. Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School specializing in military law.
“It frankly might outlast the current administration, and who knows if the next one will have the same penchant for executions,” he added.
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For those not familiar with the name, Eugene Fidell has been around basically as long as Keith Richards. He has carried on a one-man jihad against the military justice system as it is applied to criminals in the ranks.
Here’s the state of play: the military equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against Hasan. No other appeal remains except to President Trump. He can, apparently, file a habeas corpus petition in federal district court. I don’t know how that could be considered “timely,” as he has been on death row for a decade and his final appeal was refused in 2023.
Nevertheless, he might try. The kicker is that habeas appeals from the USDB must be filed in the District of Kansas. Literally every active judge in that district has been appointed by President Trump. I’m not a lawyer, but I think that is a clue that any appeal from Hasan will be settled rather quickly.
I’m sure there will be many twists and turns before Hasan takes his ride to hell. But if the best they have is “we don’t like what you’re doing” and filing a frivolous petition with a Trump-appointed judge, I think the odds of this happening look pretty darn good.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats desperately try to stop it.
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