Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Gets Case Delayed
FORT WORTH (AP) - The Army psychiatrist charged in the Fort Hood shooting rampage won a delay Wednesday that is expected to move his case to the incoming commander who will decide whether he will go to trial and face the death penalty.
Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the departing commanding general, granted a request by Maj. Nidal Hasan's attorney to delay proceedings until late April, when Maj. Gen. Donald Campbell is expected to assume command at the Texas Army post. Hasan's lead attorney, John Galligan, contended Cone wouldn't have been impartial because he was at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, and received information about the case early on that may not have been accurate.
Campbell has led the Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky.
In a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday night, Fort Hood officials gave no reason why Cone granted Galligan's request for the delay to meet with the commanding general -- the military official who will decide if Hasan will be court-martialed and face death for 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. Two Army colonels already have made that recommendation.
No meeting date has been set, but Galligan likely will meet with Cone's successor, according to the statement. Cone's date of departure hasn't been set. Senate approval is pending for his nomination, announced three weeks ago, to be a four-star general and to lead the Army's Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va.
Galligan said he was not surprised that his request was granted.
"(Cone) precluded himself from acting in a fair and impartial manner in this case, and this decision proves that," Galligan told the AP by telephone from his Fort Hood-area office, about 125 miles south of Fort Worth. "What is clear to me is that Gen. Cone will not be taking any action in the case."
A day after the mass shooting in November 2009, Cone told reporters that witnesses said that the gunman shouted, "Allahu Akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is great!" -- before he opened fire. Cone met with President Barack Obama when he traveled to the Texas Army post to lead a memorial service, and Cone later encouraged the Fort Hood community to take an online survey to determine how the rampage affected soldiers and their families, Galligan said.
The commanding general will review evidence from last fall's evidentiary hearing, including testimony from soldiers wounded in the shooting, and other documents.
A military mental health panel assessed Hasan to determine whether he is competent to stand trial and his mental state during the shootings. It also determined if he had a severe mental illness that day, and if so, whether such a condition prevented him from knowing at the time that his alleged actions were wrong.
Galligan has refused to disclose the panel's findings but has said it will not prevent the military from pursuing a court-martial.
Galligan has declined to say whether he has discussed any plea bargains with military prosecutors or whether he is considering an insanity defense for Hasan, 40, who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police the day of the rampage and remains jailed.
(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
