“We’re going to do it at 1 o’clock, which is when he did it. It’s going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad,” Hegseth previously told reporters.
Since the announcement, two victims of the shooting have expressed their thoughts on the upcoming execution. Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot by Hasan seven times, including in the head, said he wants to be at the killer’s execution.
“I want him to be able to look at my eyes and to let him understand I won’t be defeated, can’t be defeated. I am no longer a victim, his victim. I am a survivor,” Lunsford noted in an interview.
The retired soldier said he approved of the decision to execute Hasan by firing squad because “It’s how he shot us.” He also said the killer’s death could bring closure to him and other victims alongside their families.
But while Lunsford approves of the execution, he is hesitant about it being livestreamed.
“I don’t want this to be viewed upon as a spectacle, like a pay-per-view event, or like going to a basketball tournament,” Lunsford stated.
The retired soldier explained setting a precedent of livestreamed executions would go against America’s efforts to “set a standard for the free world.”