Lawyer for Alleged Fort Hood Shooter Questions Whether He Can Get a Fair Trial
The lawyer for the Army psychiatrist suspected of killing 13 people at Fort Hood says he thinks it will be difficult for his client to receive a fair trial at the military base.
Lawyer John Galligan, who retired in 2001 as a military judge at Fort Hood, appeared this morning on The Early Show on CBS. He was asked about comments yesterday questioning whether his client, Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, can get a fair trial.
“Well, I don’t know if I said that he can’t get a fair—I think that would be difficult to achieve at Fort Hood given the national media attention that’s been focused on the Fort Hood community,” Galligan said, according to the CBS News account.
Hasan will be charged in military court, the Wall Street Journal reports. A unanimous vote of a 12-person jury of military personnel would be required to impose the death penalty. The president would also have to approve a court-martial death sentence, the story says.
The last military execution was carried out in 1961, according to the New York Daily News. Nine soldiers are currently on military death row; appeals can can take years, the story says.
Galligan told CBS he met with Hasan along with his military defense counsel yesterday in the hospital, where the suspect is recovering from bullet wounds. Galligan was hired by Hasan’s brother, according to the Temple Daily Telegram. The Associated Press, however, reported that Hasan asked for a lawyer even though he is on sedatives and his condition is guarded.
“We’re early on in the pretrial stage of the court-martial process, and I think it will be an eye-opener for many Americans who don’t understand military justice process,” Galligan said on the CBS program. “The pretrial discovery is still down the road. As I said, we don’t even have a formal charge sheet right now.”
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Authorities Probe Possible Link Between Ft. Hood Shootings and Terrorism”
