FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — The gunman who killed 13 people at a Texas military base in 2009 appeared in court Thursday without the beard he ...
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — The gunman who killed 13 people at a Texas military base in 2009 appeared in court Thursday without the beard he had fought to keep, and said he wanted to keep his lead appeals lawyer. Any change of counsel could complicate an already delayed review process.
Nidal Hasan attended the hearing at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he is being held on the military death row. He no longer has the facial hair he wore during his August 2013 trial, where he was convicted and sentenced to death for a November 2009 rampage inside a medical readiness building at Fort Hood in Central Texas.
A Fort Hood spokesman confirmed Hasan's beard had been forcibly shaved according to military guidelines.
Nearly 18 months after his conviction, Hasan has not yet had his case reviewed by top Fort Hood officials, as required in the military criminal justice system. If Fort Hood's commanding general approves Hasan's death sentence, he would then receive two mandatory reviews by military appellate courts and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court.
While he represented himself at trial, Hasan's appeals are being handled by a team led by Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, who has been named a military judge. In his new position, Poppe is subordinate to Col. Tara Osborn, Hasan's trial judge, who is now the chief trial judge of the Army.
Osborn on Thursday questioned whether Poppe could keep handling Hasan's appeals, a position that requires him to try to find mistakes with Osborn's handling of the trial.
"My concern is Maj. Hasan's defense counsel now works for the trial judge," she said.
But Hasan told Osborn after conferring with another defense lawyer privately that he wanted to keep his counsel in place.
Read More - http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/crime/2015/01/29/death-row-fort-hood-gunman-hasan-to-appear-court/22514793/
Nidal Hasan attended the hearing at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he is being held on the military death row. He no longer has the facial hair he wore during his August 2013 trial, where he was convicted and sentenced to death for a November 2009 rampage inside a medical readiness building at Fort Hood in Central Texas.
A Fort Hood spokesman confirmed Hasan's beard had been forcibly shaved according to military guidelines.
Nearly 18 months after his conviction, Hasan has not yet had his case reviewed by top Fort Hood officials, as required in the military criminal justice system. If Fort Hood's commanding general approves Hasan's death sentence, he would then receive two mandatory reviews by military appellate courts and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court.
While he represented himself at trial, Hasan's appeals are being handled by a team led by Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, who has been named a military judge. In his new position, Poppe is subordinate to Col. Tara Osborn, Hasan's trial judge, who is now the chief trial judge of the Army.
Osborn on Thursday questioned whether Poppe could keep handling Hasan's appeals, a position that requires him to try to find mistakes with Osborn's handling of the trial.
"My concern is Maj. Hasan's defense counsel now works for the trial judge," she said.
But Hasan told Osborn after conferring with another defense lawyer privately that he wanted to keep his counsel in place.
Read More - http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/crime/2015/01/29/death-row-fort-hood-gunman-hasan-to-appear-court/22514793/
