Military Appeals Court Halts Fort Hood Shooting Case Over Beard Dispute
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has halted the murder case against Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused in the mass killing of 13 and wounding of 32 others in 2009 at Fort Hood.
Col. Gregory Gross, who is presiding over the court-martial, threatened to have Hasan forcibly shaved if he did not shave on his own to conform with Army regulations.
The case had been scheduled to begin Monday at Fort Hood, but now Gross has until Aug. 22 to respond to the appeals court, CNN reports.
Gross has found Hasan in contempt five times for refusing to shave, fining him a total of $5,000 so far, Reuters reports. Hasan has claimed he is not shaving because of his religious beliefs.
CNN and others are reporting that Hasan has expressed interest in pleading guilty. But military regulations do not allow guilty pleas in capital cases.
Also see:
ABAJournal.com: “Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Fined Another $1K for Showing Up at Pretrial Hearing Unshaven”
ABAJournal.com: “Denied Religious Exemption, Defendant in Ft. Hood Shootings Must Shave Beard Before Court Martial”
