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Judge Says Nidal Hasan Can Represent Himself In Fort Hood Trial

Maj. Nidal Hasan faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 of attempted murder for the November 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.
Bell County Sheriff's Office
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Reuters/Landov
Maj. Nidal Hasan faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 of attempted murder for the November 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.

The judge presiding over the case of Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is accused of killing 13 people during a 2009 shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas, said Hasan can continue to defend himself, The Associated Press reports.

Thursday's ruling comes after the standby defense team advising Hasan asked the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, to either let them take over or kick them off the case. As Mark reported, the lawyers argued Wednesday that Hasan was "basically aiding the prosecution" with a ragged defense strategy in which he admitted that the evidence would show that he was the shooter.

The AP reports that the judge sided with Hasan on Thursday, "saying it's clear the standby attorneys simply disagree with Hasan's defense strategy."

CBS Radio's August Skamenca is tweeting from the courthouse. He reports that Hasan's defense counsel told the judge it would be "morally repugnant" to continue advising Hasan. The judge's order, the defense attorney said, "violates our responsibility."

Skamenca reports that Col. Osborn listened and further ruled that "any document put forth by Maj. Hasan's standby defense team now must first be reviewed by Hasan."

The trial then resumed.

Hasan faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta
Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
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  • Maj. Nidal Hasan conceded on the first day of his trial that the evidence will show he killed 13 people and wounded others. Now, it looks like he'll try to use the trial to "vent his religious or ideological beliefs," reports NPR's Martin Kaste. So far, the judge has kept that from happening.
  • Former Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan is charged with opening fire in a troop processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, and killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others in 2009.
  • Even if he wanted to, Maj. Nidal Hasan was barred from entering a guilty plea to the 13 murder counts he faces in connection with a mass shooting in 2009. The Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits such a plea in cases that could end with the death penalty. Experts say the code goes to great lengths to protect the individual's rights.