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Bell County Sheriffs Department
U.S. Major Nidal Hasan sits at the San Antonio to Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas, after his Nov. 5 shooting spree at Fort Hood on April 9, 2010.
A judge has barred Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged in a deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, from military court because he still has a beard.
Judge Col. Gregory Gross told Hasan on Tuesday that he could not attend any more hearings until he shaved, citing the Army’s strict regulations regarding grooming standards. At a hearing earlier this month Gross had initially warned Hasan – who is still a member of the military – that his refusal to shave was in violation of Army policy.
Hasan, 41, faces the death penalty if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for the November 2009 attack that killed 13 people in Texas and wounded more than 30 others. It is the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military base.
Lead defense attorney Lt. Col. Kris Poppe said Hasan grew the beard as a “deeply sincere” expression of his Islamic faith and because he has a premonition he will die soon.
For a trial that has already suffered significant delays compared to typical tribunals, military law experts say Hasan’s actions are clearly a means of delaying the Fort Hood court proceedings and maximizing his own media exposure.
“Obviously this stunt is not genuine,” Jeffrey Addicott, a former legal adviser to the Army Special Forces, told msnbc.com. “And if it is genuine, his religion is what motivated him to murder people, so it’s not likely that would go over well for him in the long run anyway.”
Hasan, an American-born Muslim, has been clean-shaven in all other court appearances since the 2009 attack. His current shift in behavior, says Addicott, who’s also the director at the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary’s University, signals that he wants the media attention in hopes to make the case that the military is persecuting him for his faith.
“He’s using this as a platform to proselytize other would-be extremists,” Addicott said. “He wants publicity to advance radical Islam and attract other jihadists to the cause, and to portray that he’s being persecuted by the military because they are making him to shave his beard when that’s his Islamic belief.”
Hasan, who is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police the day of the rampage, was removed from the court Tuesday and ordered to watch the rest of the day’s proceedings on a closed-circuit television from a nearby room, which Addicott called particularly troubling for Hasan’s tactic. For his part, Addicott said he predicts Hasan will shave his beard.
“This is not his first stunt, and it will not be his last,” Addicott said. “Hasan thrives on media attention, so now the judge is saying, ‘I’m going to isolate you from the media,’ which won’t go over well with Hasan’s strategy.”
But despite Hasan’s motivations, Greg Rinckey, a former attorney with the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps, says he’s not surprised about delays in this case because everyone is proceeding cautiously.
“This case is being watched closely,” Rinckey told msnbc.com. “Everything the judge does is going to be subject to appeal. He doesn’t want people to say he was too harsh or predisposed, and he absolutely doesn’t want the case to get overturned on a technicality.”
Fort Hood officials wouldn’t say whether Hasan would be charged for showing up unshaven, though one possible charge is failure to obey a lawful order or regulation, which carries a maximum two-year jail sentence.
The trial is expected to last at least two months and is currently scheduled to begin August 20. Hasan remains jailed.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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You can not break rules, if he won't shave take him out back and shoot his ass.
Don't bother with shaving that worthless low life muslim scum bag, just hang the bastard now!
Prejudicial error? Is that what he is eliciting?
HE was caught in the act with many witnesses, WHY HE IS STILL ALIVE is an insult to everyone. he should have been executed for his crimes at least 2 years ago. What an extreme waste of our money keeping him alive and paying for all this. I WANT TO KNOW , NO we should all demand he has a speedy trial that everyone is guaranteed in the sixth amendment!!! Why should we pay millions to drag this out????
Still has a beard? That means he still has his head. Too bad.
Shoot him with one of those tranquilizer darts like on nature shows. Then shave him.
Just shoot his friggen arss. What a useles Muslim pig.
Shoot him with a firing squad, where the bullets have been dipped in pig fat see how he likes them apples
Kill the scumbag,If he wants to be muslim and kill all who wont join him,let him burn,Tell him he gets a free steak dinner,then feed him pork like the pig he is.He would show no mercy to any USA citizens as he is converted to kill anyone who is not muslim,Burn in hell with the quran and muhammed the boylover and rapist
This still is the United States of America. He still is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. He is still entitled to his day in court. As disgusting as I think he and those who believe as he does are, what makes us better than they are is the fact that we are a nation of laws - meaning we don't just take them out back and shoot them or hang them or behead them or whatever. I believe that even people as despicable as this person is, even he is still entitled to due process under the law and is still entitled to a fair trail by a jury of his peers. With that says, if the law says he must shave to attend his trial, then he must shave to attend his trail. The law is supreme and it is the great equalizer. We must obey the law, and when the law says he is entitled to his Constitutional rights, then he is entitled to his Constitutional rights.
Why do they bother telling him to shave? He committed murder and is now on trial. What really can they do to him?
That's just silly. Let him sit there doing or wearing whatever he wants, then after the conviction, give him his injection and move on.
He has a premonition he'll die soon? GTFO?
Seems like a double standard to me...You can have a beard, but you can't have one on your face???
Just remove everything from the neck up, problem solved.
Why would anyone think that Army policy would be a concern to a military doctor who took it upon himself to plan and murder his fellow, unarmed soldiers in cold blood - soldiers that would have been in his care. HIS CARE!!!
Speaking of care, the "good doctor" should have been taken care of long ago. Thoroughly agree with everyone here calling for the death penalty. This has dragged out way longer than it should. Along with his heinous crimes, he's also stealing oxygen from real Americans. Cockroaches have more compassion than this "doctor" masquerading as a human.
Vince, rights under constitutional law and rights under the UCMJ are two different things.
Actually you are wrong. Yes the UCMJ is a set of military laws, BUT NO law can circonvent the Constitution. All our laws including the UCMJ must adhered to the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
Now having said that why have we taken so long in dealing with this case. He has been out of the hospital for quite sometime and his article 32 hearing is done and over.
A open letter to Mighty Mouse(the lady deputy that shot him) ' should have emptied your clip, problem solved '.
Hold him down each morning and burn it off with a blow torch.
Throw him in the whale tank at Seaworld and let them use him as ball...
I don't care if he has a beard or not. However, once again the plodding legal system has done it again!
We have the weapon, the witnesses and the evidence. He should have been tried 6 months after the alleged attack and not had the chance to grow one!
There will never be any deterrent effect from this or any other serious crime until we can make these proceedings move with more expeditious alacrity.
If your child or grandchild was born on Nov 5, 2009 they are most likely walking talking by now. My youngest kid was a high school senior and will be starting his Junior year at college in August!
Swift justice is the other half of derrents
This useless scum bag should have been shot long ago for his crimes.
This is just lame
These are some of the best replies. EVER. HAHAHA
I get the whole due process argument but it still makes me laugh.
I am sure his stay in military prison is not too pleasant. Especially being paralysed. I hope they are only changing his diaper once a month. The sooner he is executed the better.
If he's wearing a diaper, he's likely not fit for execution. This means that you, JOE BLOW-, will be taxed for his meals and existence.
"because he has a premonition he will die soon". Right you are -- just as soon as the military EXECUTES his sorry, pathetic a$$!
Yeah, I was thinking that given his current legal situation, that might not really qualify as a "premonition."
He's crippled. May not be fit or execution. This means that the tax payer will have to pay for his food and shelter until about 2050 or so. He's 41 now, so he'll still be around and you will still be paying taxes.
seems easy enough...just aim lower...
If he is 41 now, and is still alive in 2050, he will be around 80 years old. I haven't seen many paraplegics that age. Fortunately, in his case, he will probably die much sooner than that. It still sucks if we have to support this murdering dirtbag. Maybe he'll martyr himself so he can have his virgins in "heaven"
I find it interesting if our military guys (and I believe he is supposed to be OUR military guy) causes any type of comotion in the middle east, all heck breaks loose and they are all but hanged on the spot. This guy goes on a shooting rampage on our military base,while a member of our military, and it is taking this long to prosecute him? I for one have difficulty with the whole religious actions of other people; however, he is entitled to his religious beliefs. But I find it odd that he followed the rules up until he killed a bunch of people and did not die when he was shot (to meet his virgins) he now has religion which dictates he must wear a beard??? The world is going nucking futz.
The one bullet that belongs in his head doesn't care if there is a beard or not.
do it and end this freak show!
Here is how stupid our goverment is he is on trial for 13 murders and 32 counts of premeditated murder and you know they will try him and put him away for life so the tax payers can pay to house and feed him for the rest of his natural life, why dont they just take him out and shoot him... if our legal system was a good legal system we would not have prisons we would take them out after the trial and shoot the people who commit murder , rape, and all the little gang bangers they would be gone as well we are to ready to lock up the criminals instead of just fixing the problem by doing away with the people that are not productive in society....
Not sure how long his natural life would be. If he's found guilty in a military court, he should go to
Ft. Leonardwood. General population in a military prison would be poetic justice I think.
Actually he will go to Ft Leavenworth.
I admit, going to Ft Leonard Wood would be punishment, however there is no prison there.
I would be glad to help his "premonition" become reality
+1.....
"Lead defense attorney Lt. Col. Kris Poppe said Hasan grew the beard as a “deeply sincere” expression of his Islamic faith and because he has a premonition he will die soon."
No kidding.
Shave him ! If he won't voluntarily, have some large M.P.'s help him . Make him appear in court. Let him know he isn't running anything. How much Nair (or Agent Orange) would it take to defoliate that scroungey beard ? After that let's make his dreams (or premonitions) come true. To show we're compassionate waive the Article 15 for not shaving, just hang him. Surely the Army can make a gallows which is wheel chair accessible !
Time to put this vermin in front of a firing squad.
Then, wrap him in a pigskin shroud, and bury him with his feet pointing toward Mecca.
I like your attitude; I have said this for years. If they blow themselves up put the pieces in a pig skin bag and bury them in a pig pen. If they die whole put a big piece of pork in their mouth and bury them in a coffin full of pig crap. I may not be sure if this will stop them from getting their 72 (fat ugly) virgins?
But if this was our standard policy they might think twice about martyrdom.
Steve
But his last meal should be 2 pork chops and falafel.
Wonder if Barry will let him off for killing Americans, as Barry's last executive power. Set his Muslim brother free. (just joking)
matza ball soup
Who cares what he looks like... just try him for his crimes, then give him the needle when convicted. This is just ridiculous that the judge even cares. Obviously, he is not going to resume a military career.
wj, he is still in the Army. He is in a Court Martial, meaning, he is in uniform. He is required by Army Regulations to be shaven. It is not delaying his court case.
He can watch the trial from his cell over video. Quite stalling.
Ah, but you see it was his 'religious' beliefs that caused him to murder thirteen unarmed soldiers and seriously wound 32 others. Once again MSNBC doesn't have the artist's drawings posted but he looks like a terrorist, which, BTW, is what he is. Now, if he were in Saudi Arabia and charged with a death penalty offense (being a witch or wizard and no, I am not making this up) he would be summarily beheaded.
--
First of all mygirl1, not everyone killed or wounded were soldiers. Secondly, are you comparing our justice system to that of Saudi Arabia? And, lastly, what does a terrorist look like?
Don't give in to this muslim/islamist POS's murderous ways... I am extremely surprised that our military doesn't or hasn't kept close tabs to any serviceman that is of this cultist persuasion more. How did islam become so corrupt and radical... easy - corrupt and radical leaders that use their cult to persuade the ignorant...
Other than committing murder, what did this POS gain? Absolutely nothing but sorrow... is that what these cultists are all about? What a subhuman cult...
The military has to respect all religions as long as the basic rules are being followed (like shaving and not killing your own). I've heard of wiccans who get an hour or so each week in basic to go pray to a tree or something.
While being courtmartialed for mass murder?
Yup, even while being courtmartialed for mass murder. I'm not sure how it's working here, but I think he's still technically in the Army, so he still rights, much as I'd like to feed him alive to starving pigs, burn the pig-$hit, then dump the ashes into a porta-potty at a Jewish girls' camp somewhere.
Call him gay, then let Willard Romney pin him down and shave it off.
Willard Romney always prefers a victim smaller, weaker or otherwise disadvantaged to himself. A coward from the word go. That's why he wanted to dress up llike a Michigan state trooper when his sainted father George Romney was governor of Michigan, and pretend to be an officer arresting people. Put a red light on his Rambler or whatever it was and bragged about it to his college classmates in Calif. That didn't go over tooo big there, and they stayed away from him after that. Too bad all the voters aren't as smart as that. Oh yes, and then tehre was the "rumored" gay kid in his elite private high school who had long hair so Mitt thought it would be cute to gather a gang together and lead it to forcibly hold the guy down and cut his hair. Vigilante justice, mob rule? Do we want this tyupe of character as our next President? I think not. Not if the decent American voters learn about what this creep's character is like. Not if we want to save Social Security and Medicare, or the parts of the health care reform that are popular, like taking away the insurance companies' right to discriminate against pre-existing conditions.
I will take romney anyday over the piece of $hit that is in office now.
D-1129384
Thanks for bringing politics into a story that has nothing to do with politics - POS
It felt like a good joke- what can I say?
Sometimes nothing is a geat idea
Keep looking for that elusive 'good joke.' But, please stop experimenting with us.
He still has feeling in his face, hang him by his beard.
Hang him at the White House.
Sorry, but the White House was renamed due to liberals saying the name is racist and is now the Obama House!
When Ms. Kay Orr was Governor of Nebraska the executive mansion was called "The 'Orr House."
Major Hassen, just thinking about him makes me sick. He is an Officer that was aloud to slip through the ranks undetected, or should say, not dealt with earlier. There are other Officers that shrugged their duties by not doing something with him when he first was identified with problems. This is an indication that our Officer Corp is not as elete as we would desire.
And the Cadets and Midshipmen in the service academies are cheats and show little hope for the future Officer Corps.
What's with this beard crap ??? Forget about this nonsense and just give him his day in court, then shoot or hang his ass , the sooner the better.
Just execute him and give him the Bin Laden burial already!
Technically, this bastard is still in the Army, so he should be courtmartialed for the beard and have it forcibly shaved. Then they should get on with convicting him and executing him. That should all take about 30 minutes if the military still worked like it used to. Too bad they had to make the Army 'kinder and gentler'. Just shoot the bastard!
"Premonition of his impending death" This guy should have been working the stok market! I'd say his probability of "impending death" is a probable as gravity! They like machetes, use one to clean him up and prop him in a chair!
What they should do is place his SA in general population and called it a day. Guarentee that he will be dead in the next 48 hours. That will save everyone a lot of money
I hope the military does not give this piece of dog meat the dignity of a firing squad. I would hang him in his wheel chair. Drum rolls please!
Dog meat, someone mention dog meat. That is being saved for Barry.
The guy's facing the death penalty and he should sweat "punishment" for growing a beard? Lawyers are the dumbest professionals on the face of the earth. They've always got some motive for why an accused person does or doesn't do what some "authority" figure wants. The guy is a Muslim and wants a beard. He has a right to a beard as does an Orthodox Jew, a Sikh, or any other Muslim. Cut the crap, prosecutor, and get on with the trial. You know, the speedy one everyone is entitled to.
If you want to know what's wrong with America and Americans, just read the ignorant comments above. This guy will get his in the end. You lowlifes will still be swilling your beer and snorting your snow. Worse yet, you'll be voting again in November.
Umm, he's still an officer in the US military, drawing full pay of $7,000 a month BTW. It was the judge who demanded the beard be removed or else he could sit in a trailer outside the courtroom, not the prosecution. The prosecution did bring up a good point, namely, he was clean shaven while commiting mass murder and his religion, well, seems his 'religion' is what motivated him to commit said mass murders.
Oh, and...ta da, it is the defense who is wanting all the extensions, not the prosecution.
So take him and force-shave his ass then drag him into court
I don't think it his ass they are concerned with.