Hasan's lawyer reveals client paralysed from chest down

Galligan says Pentagon plan violated Army regulations

John Galligan, a lawyer for Nidal Hasan working primarily on civil issues, told the BBC on Thursday that his client is paralysed from the chest down — a condition President Donald Trump reportedly did not know about when he approved a Pentagon plan to livestream Hasan’s scheduled December 3, 2026 firing-squad execution.

Galligan called Trump’s cancellation of the broadcast plan “no surprise.” “It was initially a dumb decision and statement by Hegseth to livestream any execution — and it violated the Army’s own regulation,” Galligan said, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He added: “The damage has already been done — the Army is now just trying to clean up the mess,” and characterised the episode as one that “will permanently remain a stain on our military justice system.” Galligan said it was not clear if Hasan was yet aware of Trump’s “reversal” of the livestream decision.

Trump on Thursday said that “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die.” “I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan,” Trump said. “He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” the president added. The victims’ families can still view the execution in person if they wish, Trump said: “They deserve to witness JUSTICE!”

The Pentagon had announced last week that it would execute Hasan on December 3, 2026 by firing squad and livestream the event. The plan drew immediate condemnation from the United Nations, which called it “abhorrent,” and from human rights groups and many others. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had defended the broadcast before the reversal, saying “people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”

Earlier in the week, Trump had hedged his support for the plan. On Friday, he said he “absolutely” approved of the livestream but added that the Pentagon was still “making a determination” on it. By Thursday the president had reversed course. Vice President JD Vance had cast doubt on whether the broadcast would happen and said he would not watch it either way. Trump also called Hasan “totally nuts” and said, “I really don’t care how he goes, as long as he goes, and I think that the death penalty is a very worthy way of going for him.”

According to data from Amnesty International cited by the BBC, more than 2,700 executions were carried out across 17 countries last year. Only two nations performed them publicly: Iran, with 11 known public executions in 2025, and Afghanistan, with six.

Hasan fatally shot 13 unarmed US soldiers and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009, opening fire in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers were awaiting check-ups and vaccines. The attack remains the deadliest non-combat attack on a US military base. During his 2013 court-martial, Hasan said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan from the US military. He later admitted in court that he was the gunman and apologised for “any mistakes.”

US military law requires that a military execution be approved by the president and is subject to appellate review — a higher court’s final judgment on the legality of moving forward.