Military Rarely Executes Its Own

DALLAS - Army officials say they will bring military charges against Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan rather than seeking civilian criminal charges.

But the military has not executed a soldier in almost 50 years. And since the system was revamped in 1984, 15 soldiers have been sentenced to death but none have actually been executed.

Executions in the military judicial system are rare, explains Stephen Karns.

Karns served six years as a military lawyer and now works military cases in his civilian practice. He’s currently defending once of the soldiers in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse trial in Iraq.

"It doesn't mean they don't try. Ultimately, there’s a lot of hurdles and hoops they have to jump through and at times they don't get convicted of it or it gets reversed or the commanding general decides they don't want to impose the death penalty," Karns said.

The process begins with a commanding general. In Hasan’s case that could be Fort Hood's Lt. General Robert Cone.

The commanding general then appoints a judge and at least a 12 member panel made up of officers who outrank the accused.

There is an Article 32 hearing, which is the military's version of a grand jury probe.

At court-martial in a death penalty case, jurors must decide unanimously on both verdict and sentence.

Then the military and civilian appeals begin. Appeals can run on for decades ending only after the president of the United States signs off.

“It can go up to the Supreme Court,” Karns said.

In a similar case, Sgt. Hasan Akbar was convicted of rolling a grenade into a tent at the beginning of the War in Iraq. The blast killed two of his officers and wounding 14 soldiers.

Akbar was sentenced to death at court-martial, But his case is stalled at just the first appellate level.

In this case, Hasan’s family has hired a retired colonel who is working with military defense attorneys.

"I've advised appropriate military officials that no interviews, no interrogations should be conducted by law enforcement," said retired Col. John P. Galligan.

Galligan’s already raised the issue of Hasan's mental condition and many suspect an insanity plea is possible.

However, Karns thinks the case warrants the military's most serious charge of  premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty.

"If this case weren't appropriate for it, I don't know what case would be,” he said.