In 2009, Major Nidal Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood, killing 13 and wounding more than 30. The massacre stunned the nation. Hasan was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by court-martial in 2013. The military justice system upheld that sentence through years of review, and on March 31, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final petition for appeal. With that denial, every legal avenue was exhausted.

Enter Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He’s announced his commitment to carrying out Hasan’s execution — with the formal approval of Donald Trump. It’s a rare move: the U.S. military hasn’t executed anyone since 1961, and only the President has the authority to approve a military death sentence and issue the execution order. That makes this not just a matter of military protocol, but a direct political choice. The question isn’t whether Hasan is guilty — it’s why this administration is seizing the moment now.

Military executions are not routine justice; they’re extraordinary events. That rarity makes them political theater by default. To push forward with Hasan’s death sentence in 2025 isn’t just about closing a legal chapter — it’s about timing, spectacle, and power. It shifts the narrative, giving leaders a stage to look “tough” while other scandals — from mishandled policy to lingering questions about transparency — loom in the background. Smoke and mirrors, as always.

There’s no question Hasan’s crime was horrific. Many see the death penalty as fitting, even overdue. But when leaders who thrive on resentment and distraction champion it, the moral ground grows shaky. Justice becomes less about the victims and more about the optics. Execution, in that light, risks being reduced to a prop.

CherryCoBiz is my space to explore health and wellness in all its forms. But wellness doesn’t live in a vacuum. Politics, justice, and community shape the environments we live in, and ignoring that would be dishonest. I’ve written before about my personal connection to the Fort Hood tragedy in More Than a Number: My Personal Connection to a National Tragedy. That experience makes it impossible to see this news as just another headline. When the state wields execution not only as punishment but as performance, trust in justice erodes — and tragedies risk being rewritten as political props.

Hasan will one day die, whether by natural end or at the hands of the state. But the lesson of Fort Hood should not be reduced to a campaign soundbite. Justice should honor the lives lost, not the ambitions of those who govern.

Because when justice is staged, the truth — and the people — are the first casualties.