First Execution in 65 years: US Firing Squad Executing Killer of 13 to Be Livestreamed, Pentagon Confirms

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Thursday that the military execution of the Fort Hood shooter by firing squad will be broadcast live, marking an unprecedented move in modern American capital punishment.

The scheduled December 3 execution will mark the first US military execution since 1961 and the first carrying out of a death sentence by firing squad under federal authority since the Second World War.

Pentagon Defends Public Broadcast Plan

Defending the decision during a press briefing, Hegseth stated that the public broadcast was intended as a deterrent. "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it," Hegseth said, adding that public visibility would reinforce the consequences of severe crimes against military personnel.

The announcement has triggered intense scrutiny from legal experts and human rights organisations, who point out that only two nations globally permitted general public viewing of executions last year. A live digital stream of a federal execution has no modern precedent in international jurisprudence.

Legal Challenges Ahead

It remains unclear which broadcast or digital streaming platform would agree to host the event, given strict content safety guidelines regarding graphic violence across major networks.

Legal defence teams representing the condemned inmate are expected to file immediate emergency appeals in federal court to halt the proceeding. Defence attorneys suspect the broadcast decision violates Constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, predicting that court challenges could stay the execution past the current presidential term.

Prior to the current administration, the US federal government had not executed a military prisoner in over six decades.