72 retired generals and admirals asked to cancel the broadcast of the execution of a soldier who killed 13 comrades at a military base

A group of 72 retired American generals, admirals, and other high-ranking military officers are urging the US government to cancel plans for a live broadcast of the execution, writes the BBC.

"We call on the President, our representatives in Congress, and our fellow citizens to take action to prevent this barbaric abuse of power," their letter states. It also argues that a live broadcast would turn a mass murderer into a "martyr."

Last week, the Pentagon announced it would publicly broadcast the execution of Nidal Hasan, scheduled for December 3. Hasan is an army psychiatrist who shot and killed 13 unarmed American service members at Fort Hood military base.

Lawmakers from both parties, as well as religious leaders, have criticized the plan.

Last week, President Donald Trump said he "definitely" supported the live broadcast plan. However, some administration officials are now leaning against it, CBS News reports.

According to CBS, as of Tuesday, Trump had not yet made a final decision on the broadcast.

In an open letter published on Wednesday, the former military leaders, which included 45 generals, 12 admirals, and several former heads of armed forces legal services, stated that they do not oppose the carrying out of the death penalty.

However, they argue that a public execution would violate the US Constitution's guarantees against cruel and unusual punishment, and would turn what should be a "solemn and serious punishment" into a "carnival for the gratification of voyeurs and spectators."

"Such exploitative broadcasting, which degrades human dignity, will tarnish the honor of the military that uses it and the nation that allows it," they also wrote. "Our country's enemies will use this to incite hatred, harm American servicemen and citizens in the future, and turn Hasan into a martyr for attacking and killing his comrades."

The letter's signatories represent various branches of the military. Among them were several officers who retired during Trump's first presidential term. Some also served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hasan stated in court that he committed the shooting at Fort Hood, which became the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base, because he believed he was defending Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan from American troops. Hasan was shot during the attack and now uses a wheelchair.

The letter was signed by retired Major General Tony Taguba, who led the US Army's investigation into reports of prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, as well as retired Air Force Colonel Mo Davis, who worked as a prosecutor at the Guantanamo Bay detention center and called the interrogation method known as "waterboarding" torture.

Among the signatories were also Charles Bolden - a Major General in the US Marine Corps who later headed NASA - and retired Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, the first woman in the US Army to achieve the rank of three-star general.

• 3
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0