Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Undergoing Mental Exam
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FORT WORTH, Texas — A panel of health professionals is evaluating an Army psychiatrist to determine his mental state during last year's deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, his attorney said Friday.
The three-member military panel met with Maj. Nidal Hasan this week in jail and has until mid-January to submit its report, said Hasan's lead attorney John Galligan. The panel also will review any evidence presented by prosecutors and defense attorneys, although Galligan has repeatedly objected to the exam, citing a lack of access to some government reports about the case.
"Some key documents still haven't been released, so the panel doesn't have all of the information that it needs," Galligan said Friday from his office near Fort Hood, about 125 miles south of Fort Worth.
Such evaluations generally involve psychological testing and interviews by board members, but Galligan said he knew nothing about the specifics of Hasan's exam because defense attorneys were barred from observing.
It's unclear if the panel will meet with Hasan again before submitting its report on whether he is competent to stand trial.
The panel also will determine if Hasan had a severe mental illness during the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting, and if so, whether such a condition prevented him from knowing at the time that his alleged actions were wrong.
After a brigade commander receives the panel's report, he will recommend whether Hasan should go to trial and face the death penalty for 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The final decision about how the case will proceed rests with a commanding general.
Last month an Army colonel who presided over a recent military hearing for Hasan made an initial recommendation that he should be court-martialed and face the death penalty. Army officials have not said if they would seek that punishment if Hasan goes to trial.
Military law experts have said the mental health panel's report will not affect the defense strategy if the case goes to trial, but Galligan has declined to say whether he might use an insanity defense.
Galligan had delayed Hasan's mental evaluation for a year – since Army officials announced plans for the exam about a month after the shooting. But Galligan argued that it should be done after an Article 32 hearing, held to determine if charges move forward in the military court system.
Hasan, 40, attended the recent hearing in his wheelchair. He was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by Fort Hood police that day and has been in custody since then, now in the Bell County Jail that houses defendants for nearby Fort Hood.
During the hearing Hasan sometimes took notes and showed no reaction as 56 witnesses testified, including more than two dozen soldiers who survived gunshot wounds during the rampage on the Texas Army post.
Witnesses testified that a gunman wearing an Army combat uniform shouted "Allahu Akbar!" – Arabic for "God is great!" – and opened fire in a small but crowded medical building where deploying soldiers get vaccines and other tests. The gunman fired rapidly, pausing only to reload, even shooting some people as they hid under desks or fled the building, witnesses said.
The gunman was identified as Hasan, an American-born Muslim who was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan the following month.
Before the attack, Hasan bought a laser-equipped semiautomatic handgun and repeatedly visited a firing range, where he honed his skills by shooting at the heads on silhouette targets, witnesses testified during the hearing.
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ANGELA K. BROWN 12/10/10 05:13 PM ET Associated Press