US President Trump has approved the use of a firing squad for the execution of army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan. Hasan was convicted in 2013 for the murder of thirteen soldiers at a US army base in Fort Hood, Texas. This will be the first time in over half a century that the US army carries out a death sentence; the last execution occurred in 1961. The United States utilizes the death penalty in 27 states, by the federal government, and within the military itself, but military executions outside of wartime are rare. Hasan, a US citizen of Palestinian descent, opened fire at Fort Hood in 2009, shouting “Allahu Akbar” before killing the soldiers who were preparing for deployment to Afghanistan, and wounding over thirty others. He pleaded guilty and claimed he acted to protect Muslims and Taliban leaders against Americans. Four other soldiers currently reside on death row in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.