(FORT HOOD, Texas) — Activists are speaking out against the planned public execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, arguing the death penalty will give him the martyrdom he seeks while pushing the memories of his victims further from public consciousness.
Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action, says the focus of the case should be directed toward the victims — not Hasan.
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"This guy who shot up Fort Hood is guilty of what he did. But what about the next person, and at what point are we going to say, we're going to stop paying attention? Because that's really how it's been. Over 600 executions in Texas. Nobody ever knows when they're happening," Bonowitz said.
Bonowitz argues that carrying out the execution will give Hasan exactly what he wants.
"He wants to be a martyr. And now we're providing him a platform, even if he never opens his mouth. Everybody's going to know his motivation, that could inspire others. I hope it doesn't, but it likely will. And not only that, how many of us are going to know any of the names of the 13 people that were killed or the 32 people that were left injured?" Bonowitz said.
Instead, Bonowitz says the appropriate punishment would be allowing Hasan to die in prison and be forgotten.
"Then those people fade from our memory. We don't have this experience of a decade or two decades, or three decades later, suddenly revisiting the whole thing, dredging up the pain, and making this person famous again. They just die in prison," Bonowitz said.
Bonowitz is also accusing the Trump administration of using the execution as a political distraction, and says he doubts the December 3 date will hold.
"This is not about whether this guy gets what he gets coming because they're not actually going to do it on December 3. I'll be very surprised if they do. Just because he hasn't even finished his appeals. And they know that. Why are they doing this? And why are they victimizing and re-victimizing the community? Because they can," Bonowitz said.
Hasan is set to be executed by firing squad, which would be the first such military execution since World War II. Per military regulations, the execution date must take place 60 to 150 days after the president's approval.
"It doesn't bring anybody healing. It's not going to bring our loved ones back. And no amount of killing is going to do that," Bonowitz said.
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