Jury Sentences Convicted Fort Hood Murderer To Death
Update 2:03 p.m. - FORT HOOD (CBS 11 NEWS) - Convicted Fort Hood murderer Nidal Hasan has been sentenced to death for the 2009 shootings that killed 13 people.
FORT HOOD (CBS 11 NEWS) - Closing arguments have wrapped up in the sentencing hearing of convicted Fort Hood murderer Major Nidal Hasan.
The jury panel of 13 have begun deliberations and could return with a sentence at any moment.
Hasan told the judge he had no closing statements after prosecutors argued Hasan's be sentenced to death saying quote, "He will never be a martyr, he is a criminal, he is a cold blooded murderer."
That powerful statement from Colonel Mike Mulligan capsulized the government's case against Hasan, who has been convicted for the murders of 13 people inside the Fort Hood Army post in 2009.
Wednesday morning, prosecutors went through the story of each victim and toll on their families.
From the last words of a dying Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman, "She had what few ever had, a last few minutes to pass on a message, one last request, 'Tell my family I love them,'" - to the heroic efforts by civilian Mike Cahill, who died running toward Hasan with a chair, "a 62 year old man with a bad heart and a few extra pounds trying to close the distance with the murderer."
The prosecution described the shooting of soldiers already on the ground and ignoring pleas and cries from victims.
While Hasan's religious beliefs and desire not to deploy and kill fellow Muslims may have motivated him, prosecutors told the panel that will decide his fate quote, "You should not punish for him for his religion, you should punish him for his hate."
The panel has three choices, a death sentence, life in prison or life with the possibility of parole.
CBS 11's J.D. Miles is at Fort Hood and will have live coverage of the developments on CBS 11 News at 4, 5, and 6.
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