Damien Echols, who was freed from prison after spending almost two decades on death row, told Newsweek that livestreaming the upcoming execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be "detrimental" for American society. Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3. A Pentagon official told Newsweek on Friday that Hasan’s execution would be livestreamed, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier said that it would be "public." The attack on the military base occurred during the height of the global War on Terrorism; Hasan’s own statements presented the shooting as ideologically motivated.
Before the attack, he exchanged emails with Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born cleric who was subsequently identified as an Al-Qaeda figure and who praised Hasan after the killings. At his court-martial, Hasan said he had been on the "wrong side" of what he called America’s "war on Islam" before he "switched sides." Echols says he is still fighting to clear his name after being wrongly convicted in the "West Memphis 3” case. He told Newsweek he believes livestreaming Hasan’s execution will be "detrimental to the mental, emotional and spiritual health of society and civilization." His comments come as the plan to livestream Hasan's execution has sparked a widespread backlash, including from some Republicans.
There has been fresh scrutiny about how the death penalty is carried out in the U.S. following the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee in late September. Polls have found support for the death penalty has been on the decline nationally over the last two decades. If the plan goes ahead, it would be the first time the government has broadcast or livestreamed an execution in U.S. history.
The brother of a soldier who was slain in the Fort Hood shooting has urged President Donald Trump to reconsider the plan in a letter provided exclusively to Newsweek. He said that he doesn’t want his brother’s death to become a "public spectacle." Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email and is awaiting a response. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment to Newsweek when asked if the plan to livestream Hasan's execution would be reconsidered.
Echols, 51, now an author and magician, told Newsweek that his experience in prison has informed his view of capital punishment. "I've seen all ends of the spectrum," he said. "I've seen people who completely turned their lives around, even while they were on death row." Those people, he added, would never harm anyone ever again.
"I think executing those people is a waste of potential," Echols said. At the same time, he acknowledged that there were inmates who remained violent and dangerous. "People who, if they were freed today, not only would they probably go on to hurt other people, but were still hurting and killing other people even in prison," he said.
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