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WASHINGTON, Oct 15: US President Donald Trump has canceled the planned livestream of the execution of the former US Army major who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, \u200bsaying on Thursday that he had overruled his defense chief who had intended \u200cit to be a public spectacle.<\/strong><\/p>\n Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had announced earlier this month that Nidal Hasan would be executed by a firing squad on December 3 at Fort Hood in Texas, the \u200bsite of Hasan\u2019s 2009 attack, surprising many by saying it would be broadcast live. \u200bNo other country is known to televise or livestream judicial executions.<\/p>\n \u201cI think \u2060streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for \u200bthe World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very \u200bgood and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device,\u201d Trump wrote in a social media post. \u201cHe will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event \u200bwill not be streamed.\u201d<\/p>\n The families of Hasan\u2019s victims will be able to view the \u200bexecution in person if they so choose, as is standard at US executions.<\/p>\n Some of Trump\u2019s fellow Republicans, including \u200cVice \u2060President JD Vance, as well as religious leaders and international observers, had expressed doubts about the Pentagon\u2019s livestream plan. Recent polls have also shown a majority of Americans opposed livestreaming it. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the spiritual care of<\/p>\n Catholic members of the US armed forces, also raised \u200bobjections, while Pope Leo \u200bcondemned capital punishment \u2060in all its forms.<\/p>\n Hegseth\u2019s announcement came as capital punishment already faced renewed scrutiny after Christa Pike, convicted of murder in the 1990s, \u200bsurvived an execution attempt by Tennessee that left her badly injured \u200band requiring \u2060hospitalization.<\/p>\n Nidal Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist, was found guilty in a military trial of fatally shooting 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.<\/p>\n Hegseth had said the broadcasting of the execution \u2060was \u200bneeded to ensure people understand that \u201cthere\u2019s serious consequences for \u200bthese types of things.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for \u200bcomment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n