When Nidal Hasan carried out a violent shooting spree in Fort Hood back in 2009, it appeared he had the intent to become a martyr. He did not put up any notable resistance to his charges during his trial and chose to represent himself. Given the severity of his crimes, Hasan was given the death penalty, and it is believed he thought his execution would be expedited. But the opposite appears to be true today.
As Attorney Joseph Gutheinz of Gutheinz Law Firm, LLP in Friendswood noted in an Associated Press article, the military justice system will not be rushed for Hasan’s case. Instead, he has lost the right to represent himself due to probable causes to believe he is clinically insane. By stripping his right to represent himself in future legal trials, the overall appeals process can and most likely will explore all possible avenues.
Since Hasan was once a member of the United States Armed Forces, the entirety of his trial needed to be reviewed by the commanding general of Fort Hood. After that review is completed, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAA) would be given a chance to hear the case and decide if an appeal is appropriate. After the CAA gets a chance to review the case, the United States Supreme Court could be prompted to hear it as well and decide if it should be further reviewed or pushed into a federal civilian court. Lastly, the President of the United States has to decide to sign and approve Hasad’s death sentence, since the President is the military commander-in-chief. All in all, as Attorney Gutheinz noted in his news interview, “it will be a [slow] process.”
For more information about this ongoing case, you can click here to view the Associated Press article featuring Attorney Gutheinz, which was picked up by Oregon Live of The Oregonian. If you would like to retain one of our Friendswood criminal defense attorneys for a case of your own, feel free to contact our law firm at any time to request an initial consultation.