By Florida Bill
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average time spent by a prisoner on death row is 16 years. In 1985, that period was about six years.
Surprisingly, most death row inmates actually die of natural causes before the order of the court is carried out. One defendant convicted of brutal murders and sentenced to death set a record by spending 40 years on death row before succumbing to natural causes.
The sentence of death continues to be debated as to its propriety in a civilized society. There were times in past years when the Supreme Court suspended use of the death penalty for a period finding that methods employed were barbaric. Subsequently, it found that the death penalty when administered in a humane way was constitutional.
In 2018, there were 2,721 prisoners on death row in the United States. The number of prisoners on death row has decreased annually since 1977. So what is going on with the Fort Hood murderer, Major Nidal Hasan.
So if the law is on the books, and the punishment is constitutional, how come it should take so long? Is it fear that a mistake might have been made and that the defendant is actually innocent of the crime? That is a valid thought and in fact in Illinois some years ago, the death sentence was thrown out by Gov. George Ryan for just that reason. But then, what if there is no doubt about the culpability of a defendant in that his murderous acts were witnessed by scores, and that the defendant has acknowledged the crime and actually is proud of what he did and seeks to terminate appeals so that he can be put to death expeditiously as ordered by a jury following a trial at which he (defendant) offered no defense.
Army Major Nidal Hasan, a psychiatrist, with malice and foresight, exploded in Muslim violence at Fort Hood Texas 11 years ago and slaughtered 13 persons and wounded 32 others in an assembly hall in plain view of hundreds. In 2013, following a dragged out pre-trial period, a jury found Hasan guilty of the first degree murder of 13 persons, and the attempted murder of 32 others and sentenced him to die for his crimes, committed before scores, maybe hundreds, watching in fear.
During his trial, Hassan offered no defense and acknowledged that he was the shooter. In interviews he has said that he does not regret the killings and would change nothing. He wishes that the order of the court be carried out as it would provide him the status of "martyr," in accord with Muslim tenets.
He was 39 years old on the day of the shootings. As participants were sitting and standing in the assembly hall on the Texas army base, Hasan drew his gun and began firing indiscriminately while screaming "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is Great) over and over as his fellow soldiers fell like ducks in a row Within seconds a soldier was able to return the gunfire and bring down the radical Hasan with bullets hitting his back and spine.
Now 50, Hasan is incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and is paralyzed from the waist down. Army nurses and doctors continue to tend to his daily needs as he awaits his execution....and he has no regrets.
For the five years following the shootings and until the jury verdict of guilty, Hasan drew his salary which amounted to about $300,000. With the verdict came his discharge from the army and termination of his salary. His accrued pay--he apparently sent the money to Muslim brothers in Syria.
On death row, he has busied himself writing letters and one of them went to the notorious leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi in which he asked to be made a member of his organization. The terrorist ISIS leader granted his request in a return communication, but al-Bagdadi will not be around to applaud at Hasan's execution, if it ever occurs. Al-Bagdadi committed suicide last October as Americans were preparing to apprehend him for his criminal and murderous plans to kill Americans and create a global caliphate.
Aside from whether one agrees or disagrees with the death penalty for capital crimes in America, the delay of 11 years for the slaughter by a muslim fanatic of soldiers and civilians is unreasonable and defies sensible explanation.
It is true that there are mandatory appeals in all death sentence cases. Appeals go to the Military Court of Criminal Appeals, then to the U.S. Court of Appeals and on to the U.S. Supreme Court. Finally, the sentence must be personally confirmed by the President.
In a death case, the appeals courts may consider all evidence, even that which was not part of the record of the trial and lower court rulings. That will add some time to the process. But the defendant Hasan wants to be executed so as to gain "martyr" status. The murders were planned and carried out in full view of fellow soldiers and civilians. Drafting petitions for an amended verdict of "not guilty" for whatever reason or for a new trial would not be difficult for lawyers to prepare and submit to the reviewing judges, and can and should be done without the passage of years. If congress wishes to make changes in the law and eliminate the death penalty, it should do so.
It is a good guess that President Trump will review and confirm a final decision to go ahead with the death penalty imposed by a military jury.
Hasan seeks "martyr" status for his killings of infidels. Even applying the Muslim religious beliefs, Hasan may be headed in the wrong direction. In a closing argument at the trial, a prosecutor said that martyrdom is reserved for the followers of Allah who "give" in his name. But a prosecutor set the record straight and pointed out that even in Hasan's skewed vision of living and dying and right and wrong and the life beyond, "he can never be a martyr because he has nothing to give." He is not giving his life--the USA is taking his life. "This is not a gift to the Almighty--It's his debt to society. and he will never be a martyr."
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