The Catholic archbishop who leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, Timothy P. Broglio, said Monday that Catholic service members assigned to the firing squad set to execute former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan should "ask to be excused," intensifying a bipartisan backlash against the Pentagon's plan to livestream the execution. Hasan was convicted by court-martial in 2013 for the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 people, and his execution is scheduled for December at the same base, according to CBS News.
In a statement, Broglio cited the Catholic Church's opposition to the death penalty and warned of "moral injury" to the soldiers who would have to carry it out. He asked: "Do we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries?" His statement came three days after Pope Leo XIV wrote separately that the death penalty is "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person," though the pope did not name Hasan specifically.
A Pentagon Plan Under Fire
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that the execution would be made public, saying the military wants people to understand "that there's serious consequences for these types of things." It would be the first U.S. military execution by firing squad in decades. The plan has drawn objections from lawmakers in both parties. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said, "I would expect this from terrorists and dictators, but not here in America," and Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, also a Republican, said "the death penalty is not entertainment." House Speaker Mike Johnson said some of his GOP colleagues have "concerns" he plans to raise with the White House, warning that footage of the execution "would be a recruiting tool for future terrorists." Not every Republican has objected: Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee wrote that "public execution is what this terrorist deserves."
If it's ultimately livestreamed, I'm not going to be watching it.
Vice President JD Vance
President Trump has sent mixed signals on the plan. Asked Friday whether he had authorized the livestream, he said, "Absolutely, I did." By Saturday he suggested the decision was still open, saying "there are two thoughts: don't show it and show it," and adding that he would ultimately "make a decision." Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has defended the plan, saying simply, "No one has to watch it." The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Broglio's statement, according to CBS News.
With the December date approaching, the fight over whether to broadcast the execution has become as contentious as the case itself, pitting the administration's deterrence argument against warnings from clergy, rights advocates and lawmakers in both parties that the spectacle could do more harm than good. A rival newsroom's timeline of how the Army settled on the December execution date lays out the legal steps that led to the Dec. 3 setting in more detail.
