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Reuters
The issue of whether Maj. Nidal Hasan, charged with 13 counts of murder, should shave his beard resulted in a judge's removal.
The highest military appellate court ordered on Monday the removal of the judge overseeing the trial of Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at the Fort Hood Army base in 2009.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces wrote in an opinion that Col. Gregory Gross should be removed for the appearance of bias -- in part because he demanded that Hasan's beard be shaved.
“The command, and not the military judge, has the primary responsibility for the enforcement of grooming standards,” the court wrote in a 10-page opinion. “A military judge’s contempt authority is directed toward control of the courtroom. Although the military judge here stated that (Hasan’s) beard was a ‘disruption,’ there was insufficient evidence on this record to demonstration that (his) beard materially interfered with the proceedings.”
Further, the opinion stated, the judge and his family were present at Fort Hood on the day of the shootings.
“While this fact alone is not disqualifying, when viewed in light of the factors identified above, an objective observer might reasonably question the military judge’s impartiality,” the opinion read.
Related: Court rules Fort Hood shooting suspect Nidal Hasan must shave beard
Army grooming standards prohibit beards but allow for religious exceptions. Judge Gross had denied Hasan's request for such an exception. He found that Hasan's claims of religious sincerity did not outweigh prosecutor's arguments that Hasan grew the beard just before his August trial date so witnesses wouldn't be able to identify him in court.
Hasan, 42, faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack at the Army post about 130 miles southwest of Dallas. In addition to those killed, 29 were wounded. His trial had been placed on hold pending the issue of whether he must shave his beard.
His lawyers argued that he wears a beard because of he is devoutly Muslim and that requiring him to shave it would amount to religious discrimination.
Monday’s court opinion does not resolve the issue of his beard, however: “Should the next military judge find it necessary to address (his) beard, such issues should be addressed and litigated anew.”
A new judge has not been assigned to the case.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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More PC BS!!!
“Hasan grew the beard just before his August trial date so witnesses wouldn't be able to identify him in court”
The law works in peculiar ways. If his beard is interfering with his identification, shave it off. Did or did he not shoot and kill 13 people and wound 29? Perhaps they locked up the wrong person? Please give me a break, this is a clear case so why all this procrastination? Maybe they will find him innocent and let him go!!
What a joke. One could laugh if the matter wasn’t so serious.
What a diseased judicial system we have in America that we can't even expedite a trial over something this clear and horrendous (a mass murder that everyone witnessed) without turning it into an obscene three-ring circus of justice delayed and denied.
Sounds to me like the presiding judge tried to cut through the crap (the beard and other defense tricks) and for that he gets canned by the Appeals Court. Disgraceful.
Shave the beard off, he is still subject to the UCMJ. He probably did grow his beard for religious reasons if he had it grown before he committed murder. But as it is the military judge is probably right.
There have been far too many delays in bringing this piece of @!$%# to justice. I do not see how forcing this guy to shave shows bias. He did not have a beard and had not applied for a religious exemption to grow one at the time of the shooting. Does that mean that he has become more devout since the shooting or that this is nothing but a ploy on his part to hinder identification and thumb his nose at the military?!?! I think it is far more likely the latter. He apparently did not see a need to have a beard at the time of the shootings so there is no reason to allow him to have one now. Just get on with the trial already so that they can execute this SoB, there is no doubt at all about his guilt.
Anybody know who the Command Officer is then? If so we can all write and demand that this P.o.S. be held down and forcibly have his beard shaven.
Are you kidding me? Execute this terrorist scumbag already!!!
Lets hope we don't get like (was it Norway?) where that guy killed over 70 people (mostly children) at a kids camp and then, because they can't have such harsh sentences there, the guy can only go to jail for a maximum of 21 years. So he'll be out when he's in his 40's and be able to repeat himself. That guy may be able to repeat himself 2 or even 3 times with 21 years of jail in between with him complaining about his jail conditions, lack of TV channels and no friends. What a sad world we are living in where the murderers are treated like victims.
Shave off everything above the shoulders, everything. His "people" like to behead criminals, I say we let him have his islamic justice.
If our military judicial system doesn't give him the death penalty, then radical islam wins. Think about that.
Just shoot the son of a b!tch trying to escape.
OK, be PC if we have too. provide a fair trial, then before we hang him, give him a bath in pigs blood, and bury him with a Pigs tail in his mouth, and wrapped in pig guts. He deserves nothing better. 72 Virgins by fat red butt!!!!!
Actually, the Court of Appeals may be heading off a valid basis for future appeals to dismiss a verdict of guilty found by the lower military Court. Which might be made by the Defense to the Court of Appeals. Which could claim the Judge was bias because he was there on the day of the shooting. As much as we hate the delay now.Which would leave only a possible religious basis for the beard being shaved. Since the defendant hasn't worn the beard prior to the shooting,then one could claim it was a ploy.But this won't have any affect on a guilty finding by the court.By switching judges at this point, it even removes that possible future claim.
As far as witnesses being unable to recognize the shooter, it only takes one witness, to get a conviction for murder.There were 29 wounded, so we know there are plenty of witnesses. It is doubtful nobody will be able to identify him.This monster will get his day in court. It may be taking awhile, but he really isn't going any place and that cell I am sure is getting mighty monotonous by now.Mind games is all he has left in his control.For someone who took so many lives that fateful day, no doubt he must be getting antsy by now.
For a military officer,once more shame on him for disgracing the uniform and taking the lives of so many worthy honorable service members.He represents the lowest of humans and the worst that man can be.Why he didn't just take his own life, I do not understand.
If he had issues, they should have been addressed, and not been taken out on lives that had nothing to do with him personally. Obviously he targeted others to make his statement, like so many other cowards often do, because he was unwilling to have the guts to address his issues personally the right way. But he will pay for such actions in ways he cannot comprehend. No man has the right to murder another.
Why is he still breathing, his victims aren't.
Why is this still dragging on, KILL the SCUM BAG Already.....
Hasan was cleanshaven when he "allegedly" killed 13 people and wounded 20+.
Was he not a devout Muslim at the time of the "alleged" shooting? He "allegedly" shouted "Allah Akbar" prior to his "alleged" shooting spree.
Had he asked for a shaving waver on religious grounds at any time in his career prior to the "alleged" shooting?
I believe the answers are Yes, Yes, Yes, No. The "Ayes" have it, He should have to shave his beard.
Stand down heathen! Allah and his six pillars of faith own you!
What a GREAT! Ruling!!! Especially the "REMOVAL" part for bias. Many times Religious "Sincerity" is actually brought about because of and during incarceration. This Guy may be "more FREE" now, in regard to his Religion than he was while holding down his position before his incarceration.
Speaking of "bias" and the "grooming" of Murderers, there's a picture out (digitally Photo"SHOPPED" and retouched?) of Trayvon Martin's Killer, who looks like he could have punched himself and slammed his own face into the ground to get bloodied-up-groomed for "sincerity" and what he knew could possibly come.
@Mac- Shoot him while trying to escape? In his wheelchair? You do realize he's paralyzed from the chest down. I say convict him and let him live out his life confined to that wheelchair and in pain as he is now. Killing him will just make him a martyr to his fellow Islamists.
As a US Citizen, I accuse the Military Command of being so afraid of condemning this Muslim for the murders he committed that it is frozen with fear and cannot move forward with this trial.
I accuse the Administration with every probability of behind the scenes communications with the Military Command, instructing them that they cannot do anything that insults the Muslim contingent in this country and abroad, and to proceed carefully with any rulings that touch upon Islam.
I predict that this killer, who acted with premeditation and after obtaining the blessings of his intended slaughter from one of the top terrorist leaders being sought dead or alive by our country, will never be ordered to death, as he should be.
If he receives any punishment, it will be "life." He will be constantly in the news, keeping the bitter wounds of the family and friends... and of the nation.... open and weeping.... as he makes demands for special privileges and concessions "due" him because of his religion.
He needs to die. For the sake of his victims... for the sake of this country.... he needs to die. And soon.
Now, I want to see justice as much as everyone else. But really! the judge was there during the shooting?!?!? He didn't remove himself?!?!? The military didn't bring in a judge from some other location?!?!? The appeals on just that alone would extend this pig F&^%ers death by a few years.
Complete non-sense. Yeah, they're frozen with fear over Hasan. How is it not obvious that this is the right move to make? The military is clearly doing everything they can to limit the potential for appeals. I applaud that! The last thing I want to see is this guy have any chance at an appeal. The other judge was apparently ready to risk opening up "appeal" doors over a stupid beard.
For those who would hold him down and forcibly shave him.... are you willing to risk the possibility that he could have charges overturned on appeal? All for a stupid beard?
LET HIM HAVE HIS STUPID BEARD. It will not prevent his conviction. Kudos to those who are looking to close all possible "appeal" doors. I'm sure the families of the victims thank you too.
This country, this administration, needs to get off its frozen ass and stop tip-toeing around Muslims both here and abroad.
This man murdered our soldiers ON AMERICAN SOIL, in a MILITARY institution, while he, himself, was employed by the military. That was not only murder, it was TREASON, and if the military and this country is frozen with fear of offending Muslims or anyone else we may as well all fall on our knees and worship Allah.
We have a right and an obligation to the dead and to our country and to ourselves to move forward from a position of outrage and strength to show the entire damn world that we WILL NOT allow this regardless of who does it or what religion they claim.
This man needs to die... now. Screw appeals. Screw everything. This is a special case where there is no doubt whatsoever of guilt and the weakness we are showing the world over this piece of human garbage and this trash of a religion that we are so terrified of offending is making us lose any semblance of credibility with world leaders.
Stuff the nonsense about rule of law... not one damn country or one damn person... even those who practice the law in the US.... respect the rule of law we talk about.
This Muslim needs to die for what he did and we need to show the world we have the balls to kill him.
We are fulfilling that obligation. It's called "due process" and we have an obligation to the Founding Fathers and everyone whose ever fought for "our freedoms" to always follow the law and "due process".
Quite the emotional response. It's a dishonor to all soldiers (past and present) who have fought for our rights and freedoms to pick and choose those rights depending on religion. It's a dishonor to say "stuff the nonsense about rule of law". When rule of law is "nonsense", then the "scary Muslims" will be the least of your worry.
One thing is for sure... by showing the world how fairly we treat this POS, our system of "due process" is so envied by the billions of people who have no access to due process, that they flock to our country as immigrants. They're looking for the fairness that they don't have in their country. You know, the same fairness you now spit on in the name of vengeance.
And fools like you wanna throw it all away. To me, anyone declaring the "rule of law" to be "non-sense" is a scary, scary person. Do not call yourself an American all the while insisiting for the same type of Justice they get in Iran and North Korea.
If a soldier or bearded a$$-wipe is out of military uniform, then the judge has that authority if his appearance is disruptive in court. And since he was in violation of military dress code (no beards allowed) whether he is a radical-scumbag Muslim dog who violated his oath to the country, which he swore to defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic, he violated military regulations by being out of uniform. I would explain to these liberal a$$-kissing judges that he violated military dress code. And if a judge in court can order you to wear shirt and tie in civilian court, they can damn well order you in military (Federal) court to not dress like the slim-murdering dirt-bag you are, beard and all. His trial should take all of two minutes; then haul him out and hang him from the base flag pole. Then take his body and give it to a pig farmer. He'll know what to do with it!
Yep. That's the right on man. You said it all.
The problem isn't the bearded man. It's the judges who can't put their foot down, and I think one judge did, just exactly that.
I think there is one judge here with some big hairy kahunas.
And this judge who just put his foot down and said enough of this BS is what the American spirit is all about.
I find that the prosecutor had a valid concern when he asked that Hasan remove his beard. Hasan had been in the army for years and was a muslim who never wore a beard until now. I find it stupid that if you add the fact that the judge ordered the removal of the beard + the fact that he and his wife were on the base at the time of the shooting = Bias. Suspect math, if you ask me.
What next in this epic debacle??? There are families and friends and an entire country awaiting justice. Stop the stalling, move forward one way or another and finish this hideous chapter.
Hey Chef!
Im waiting for the DOJ to grant him a full pardon. Work place violence my A$$!!!
GM Fed!!!
Please...don't give them any more ideas...the defense will try to use that one next...
The judge had every right to make him shave off that damn beard. Amazing this bastard killed 13 people and is allowed to show his comtempt by sporting a beard and claiming religious reasons. If that is so why didn't he wear that beard everyday while he served in the service, he is still in the military and should have to abid by military rules. Hold his Ass down and shave it for him.
I agree @sharriannie hold him down or pour Nair hair remover on his beard while he sleeping.
Cute name my granddaughter is name Shar.
Well i wondered how long it would be before this happened. it seems if you are an Islamist then you can pretty much do what you want. The problem is we should not even be having a trial because when they caught him in the first place he should have had a bullet between the eyes. You bunch of pacifist if you live long enough you will find yourself agreeing with me. When someone commits a murder and you don't see them do it then they need a trail but when someone is caught in the act they need to be dead.
In MOST cases I couldn't agree more.
I don't think justice is being served! I agree that this man has grown the beard after committing murder. He never wore a beard before because it was against the military regulations. The man is still in the military, and despite his now claiming to be a devout Muslim, so he should be ordered to follow military rules. The ruling should fall back to how the criminal appeared at the time of the murders. He wore no beard then, so why should he be able to now claim to be a Muslim and be able to wear a beard? The appellate judges are changing and making new rules as the trial attempts to go on. Also, they were in their positions when this criminal murdered the innocent soldiers, so how can they make fair rulings?
Personally, I don't see how this creep has survived in jail. If he had any balls, he should hang himself and claim that he is a martyr. That would solve the whole problem!
But he is an coward only shoots at unarmed that are not able to resists.
Amazing.
The appellate court was correct. It was idiotic of the trial judge to allow a mass-murder trial to degenerate into a trivial dispute about a beard. The idea that witnesses would be unable to identify the defendant as the shooter because of his beard is preposterous. Go ahead and try the guy -- don't waste time arguing about his facial hair.
Exactly! I've said it before, this judge was an idiot! He's wasted thousands of dollars in tax payer money over a stupid beard. He'll be found guilty with or without the beard. Unless of course the governemnt/army lawyers prosecuting this case totally, screw it up! That's a possibility. Anyway, all these "contempt of court charges," whose paying them? Taxpayers! This judge has totally screwed this whole trial up, it could and should have been over by now. The only thing this judge has managed to do is make himself look like an idiot, and now there's an appellate court judge who has affirmed it and removed him from the case. Crazy!
The son of a b!tch should have been forcebly shaved the first day he started to grow his beard and every day after that he did not shave on his own.
This appellate court is bias in its own way. They were around when the murders occurred, so how can they make a fair ruling. Also, the criminal wore no beard when he committed the crimes, and he didn't request a religious waver for the beard prior to the murders, so, why should he be able to claim that he is a Muslim and wants to wear a beard? The judge that was sitting on the case has been following military rules; however, this appellate court is making their own rules as this case is dragged on. Frankly, I'm surprised that this criminal has made it this far without someone putting a bullet thru his head. That would save the government and the tax payer a lot of money!
If he wants to appear in court looking like the Muslim terrorist scum bag that he is, let him. He is showing his true values. He had no problem shaving his beard so he could get into the military and in a position where he could carry out this attack - now suddenly he's claiming it's against his religious beliefs to shave. He can put aside his values to do murder. I say, let him keep his beard if it'll make things move faster - try him and then shoot him!
I just get sick. What has happened to us.
This is Obama at work. HObama wants the Moslem to be able to keep his beard. Obama doesn't want his Moslem brothers to be upset.
Gimme a break! Go soak another tea bag.
Political correctness, we might offend musliums if we make him shave, or us do it for him. What a shame this crap has spiled over..from W DC...
Canyou say Obama?
I believe in a time of war, which what this country was in when the crime was committed, a service member can be tried for treason and the punishment is death. This is what should happen and this is what the other service members are waiting for! We all know he did it. Is there really any question. do we actually have to support this man for the rest of his life. TX does have the death penalty as well as the Military.
You have GOT to be kidding me! The judge demanded that the pig look presentable in court -- and the PC police remove him from the case? The bastard is guilty as sin. Forget the trial and execute the SOB! The a$$hole wants to play 'terrorist' and go to Paradise for his virgins?? Fine, let's help him along.
Caffeine Queen: Though you're no doubt a red-blooded American, I wonder how come many of your suggestions ( like presumption of guilt ) are actually more characteristic of despotic regimes. Are you really in favor of Constitutional protections beyond the right to bear arms and your freedom to speak ( or post ) your mind?
That about says it all for me. Of all the people to go berserk....
This person of interest doesn't fall under just the regular law but he falls under UCMJ as well. So all decissions thereof can and will be doled out by the military and its selected tribunal. He will and should get his day in court, beard or no beard. Then the good people and its military of this great nation will judge him and the offenses perpetraded to its soldiers, friends and country-men alike according to the laws of its land.
If he didn't have the beard before the shooting, then how can it be stated that he grew the beard for religious reasons? When did he become religious?
Your logic is blasphemy! :)
Mighty men of Allah with Six pillars of faith can grow beards anytime they want! Just like heathens in Utah can worship in churches with six spires and manipulate 14 year old girls into marriage by promising to save their entire families into heaven!
Do not question the logic of religious zealots!
Your first mistake is reasoning with religious zealots. They either follow the law or they don't.
He's required to shave according to military regulations. Hold him down and shave him. His religious beliefs are immaterial.
The truly sad part of all this is that the Obama Administration still refuses to call this a case of terrorism. To this day, Obama and his minions still say this was simply a case of work place violence. The murdered and wounded soldiers are refused any recognition of their wounds.
I believe that the politically correct crowd are rejoicing in this military judge being removed from this case. Poor Major Hassan, if the big bad army makes him shave, it will disgrace him and his religion. As many have already stated, Hassan had no problem with a clean shaven appearance before this terrorist attack. So why does he have a problem now? If he refuses to shave, then he should be shaved by force. Maybe he will fight it and end up with a slit throat, thereby saving a few tax dollars.
and our government still classifies this attack as work place violence. what a joke
Sounds like a CIC interference call on the judge who was correct to have Hassan look the way he was when the shootings occurred. Hassan is an Islamic terrorist but not according to the intentional failure to call him as such by Obama. Penalties on the judge coming the same source that advocated appeasement and weakness policies in the Middle East to radical Islamic factions. The Benghazi failures comes to mind as this Muslim sympathizer continues to show his true colors..
Hey don't worry about his beard, this as usual has turned into one big joke, take the "bastard" out and get rid of the piece of trash. I'm telling you, we have no guts to do what we need to do.
I wonder who is on the court of appeals? This whole thing stinks has Eric Holder written all over it since he did not classify this as an act of terrorism.
what a total waste of MY tax money and the tax money of every American, this should have been a quick little trial and then a quicker execution.