Fort Hood shooting massacre suspect Major Nidal Halik Hasan has his first hearing scheduled today in his hospital room in the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Fort Sam in San Antonio, Texas. According to Hasan's lawyer, former Army Colonel John Galligan, Hasan's hearing is to determine if the soldier should remain in pretrial detention. There is also the possibility that a location of a pending trial may be discussed during the hearing. Today's hearing is closed to the public and possibly the media as well.
According to Galligan in the New York Times, if the pretrial detention order stands, "the Army could move Major Hasan to a jail as soon as he is discharged from the hospital."
Hasan is accused of murdering 13 people at Fort Hood located in Killeen, Texas, also home to the infamous Luby's massacre on October 16, 1991. In that previous rampage, George Hennard rammed his truck into a Luby's Cafeteria and slaughtered 23 people before turning the gun on himself.
Galligan asserted that the hearing is "being conducted prematurely" since his client, who is paralyzed from the waist down, is still in the intensive care unit at BAMC. Hasan's attorney also claimed that the "speed and manner in which this hearing has been directed is additional evidence that Maj. Hasan will have great difficulty in securing a fair trial."
Galligan also claimed that statements made by Republican United States Representative John Carter, whose 31st District includes Fort Hood, have also damaged his client's chances at a fair trial. According to CNN, Carter spoke with surviving victims who believed "that when the shooting started, many of them thought it was some kind of "paintball" drill.
Others told the Representative that Hasan used a laser-sight on his gun. "Everybody is convinced he was targeting soldiers and not targeting civilians, because some of the civilians said he looked them in the eye, shook his head and passed over them," Carter said.
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