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FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) - A military judge on Friday once again held the Fort Hood shooting suspect in contempt of court for showing up to a pretrial hearing with a beard he had been ordered to shave.
Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was fined $1,000 for a second time. The judge, Col. Gregory Gross, then sent Hasan to a nearby trailer to watch the rest of the hearing on closed-circuit television, as he has done since showing up with a beard at a June hearing.
Beards are a violation of Army regulations. Hasan's attorneys say he keeps declining to shave because he believes that doing so would violate his Muslim faith.
Last week, the judge held Hasan in contempt and fined him $1,000. Gross said Hasan would be forcibly shaved at some point before his Aug. 20 trial if he doesn't shave the beard himself. He said he wants Hasan in the courtroom during the court-martial to prevent a possible appeal on the issue if he is convicted.
Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 attack on the Texas Army post. Hasan, 41, faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted.
Gross on Friday also ordered a pretrial hearing next week to hear from a prosecution witness and determine if he will testify during the trial. Defense attorneys are challenging the validity of the expert witness, who plans to testify that Hasan is a "homegrown terrorist," according to previous pretrial hearing discussions. A defense expert witness may testify at the hearing to counter the prosecution team's witness.
Gross also approved a defense request for another expert to testify about extenuating circumstances and mitigating factors regarding Hasan's re-commitment to his religious conversion. Prosecutors had objected, saying the defense team already has a mitigation expert and was trying to make the trial more favorable to their client.
August 6, 2012 @ 1:51 pm
I would like to be the one to shave this ******* while he is being held down!
August 6, 2012 @ 1:54 pm
Oh darn, a little knick there, you should not have moved. Hold him tighter!
August 6, 2012 @ 2:20 pm
There have been numerous exceptions made in the military for religious reasons. Why is he not granted an exception?
If you won’t defend his right to religious freedom, who are you to expect that anybody will defend your right if the need arises?
August 6, 2012 @ 2:48 pm
My husband is not allowed to wear a beard at his work because of safety issues. They are issued gas masks and proper fit of a mask cannot be assured when you have a beard. I would assume that has something to do with the army rule as well.
August 6, 2012 @ 3:42 pm
Your logic is pure. We do have a Constitution; of which the first ten articles are considered to be The Bill of Rights. Good and valid point Jeff.
August 7, 2012 @ 6:14 am
When you join or enlist in the Military or on active duty you don’t have the same rights as a civilian. You are subject to military rules and regulations. If you can’t handle that then don’t join the military!
August 6, 2012 @ 2:43 pm
Hasan apparently was not in violation of the beard rule during the time when he was in the active military before the shootings in 2009. He was a Muslim at that time, too. Why only now does he feel that shaving his beard would be against his religion?
August 6, 2012 @ 2:54 pm
joelsk44039 – I totally agree with you. The first pictures I saw of him after the shooting – he was clean shaven. true to Allah only when its convenient for him?
August 7, 2012 @ 6:15 am
I agree!
August 8, 2012 @ 10:58 am
No one in the military has been allowed to have a beard for over 20 years now. Why was he not busted in rank for disobeying an order? An enlisted man would have been. This is all just part of the circus show that this terroist is going to use. Bet he claims that he is not subject to the rules of the Court Martial Board too. This is the very reason that the terroists like him should be tried in Gitmo, so they don’t have access to the media to turn it into a circus. Using Islam when it is convient for him is not an excuse.
August 6, 2012 @ 2:49 pm
Fining this mass murderer $1,000 is a joke! He should be force ably held down and shaved (both beard and hair) like most prisoners when they enter prison. Maybe his defense lawyer will charge ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ or violation of his 1st Amendment rights but this cockroach forfeited his rights when he committed an act of terrorism and he is a traitor as well as a mass murderer and should be shot dead immediately after proven guilty.
August 6, 2012 @ 3:26 pm
This cold-blooded killer does not care. The judge could fine him 13 Million and, to him, it does not matter. He is looking at life in prison…Wait; maybe that is a good idea. Won’t he be paid per hour while doing some task in prison? Fine him for contempt of court…the money can then come out of his pay. He will not be able to buy a thing. No money for things that now seem modest will soon be great treats and treasures; like a cup of tea. He will not only be broke for life, he will be in debt for life and penniless.
August 6, 2012 @ 4:30 pm
Why isn’t Major Hasan getting an Article 15 and fine every day for not shaving?
Why isn’t his commander getting an Article 15 for dereliction of duty?
August 6, 2012 @ 4:40 pm
I encounter a lot of Muslims that are clean shaven so what is his problem?
August 6, 2012 @ 5:00 pm
What does he care. He has no place to spend it.
August 6, 2012 @ 5:27 pm
He is just looking for additional ‘martyr material”, don’t give it to him. He can rot in jail just as well with or without a beard. Probably shouldn’t allow him anything to trim hair or beard with, wouldn’t want him to cut his wrists.