A military jury of 13 officers, who had previously convicted Hasan of 13 counts of murder and more than 30 of attempted murder, took only an hour to decide on the sentence.
Major Nidal Hasan, the former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in the worst massacre at a US military base, was sentenced to death last night (Wednesday).
A military jury of 13 officers, who had previously convicted Hasan of 13 counts of murder and more than 30 of attempted murder, took only an hour to decide on the sentence.
Hasan, 42, could face lethal injection, possibly making him the first soldier to be executed by the American military since 1961. Hasan opened fire in a medical facility at Fort Hood, Texas on Nov 5, 2009, just weeks before he was due to be deployed to Afghanistan.
He said in his opening statement at the court martial that he was the gunman, and that he had switched sides in what he considered to be a US war on Islam.
Witnesses testified that Hasan screamed "Allahu akbar" as he sprayed gunfire with his laser-sighted handgun at soldiers waiting for vaccinations ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan.
The American-born Muslim later claimed he wanted to become a martyr. Col Michael Mulligan, the prosecutor, told the jurors before they began deliberating Hasan's punishment: "What are 13 lives worth? What is a military career worth? What is the use of an arm worth? What is the loss of an eye worth? What is the life of a child growing up without a father or mother worth?
"Don't be fooled. He is not now and never will be a martyr. He is a criminal. He is a cold-blooded murderer. He is not giving his life. We are taking his life." Hasan, who conducted his own defence, turned down his final chance to address the jury before deliberations.
He said: "I have no closing statement." He spoke little during his trial, turning down repeated opportunities to make a statement or present evidence. Standby defence lawyers attempted to present mitigating evidence to argue for a life sentence, including details on his background, family life, education and logs of his behaviour in jail. Hasan objected, complaining to the judge that he had "overzealous defence counsel".
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