Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death Wednesday for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in his killing spree in Fort Hood, Texas in 2009.
According to The Washington Post, the former Army psychiatrist shouted “Allah akhbar!” meaning “God is great,” before open firing at Ford Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center on November 5, 2009. Hasan was impassive at his trial as 13 senior military officers unanimously handed down a death sentence.
He had previously exchanged emails with a leading al-Qaeda figure to ask if killing his fellow soldiers would make him a martyr, leading many to believe he wanted the death penalty and believed martyrdom would come with it.
Hasan represented himself during the trial, but had three defense attorneys on stand-by, one of whom had concerns Hasan was "working in concert with the prosecution in achieving a death sentence," National Journal reports. He did not even attempt to present himself as innocent during the trial. In his opening statement, Hasan said, "Evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter, and the dead bodies will show the war is an ugly thing."
Photo courtesy of US Army, Wikimedia Commons