FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — A military judge could decide Thursday whether the soldier accused in the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood is trying to guarantee himself a death sentence.
Defense attorneys ordered to help Maj. Nidal Hasan as he represents himself during his murder trial said they believe he is trying to convince jurors to convict him. After only one day of testimony, the lawyers said, they couldn't watch him fulfill a death wish.
"It becomes clear his goal is to remove impediments or obstacles to the death penalty and is working toward a death penalty," his lead standby attorney, Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, told the judge on Wednesday. That strategy, he argued, "is repugnant to defense counsel and contrary to our professional obligations."
Hasan gave a brief opening statement during the trial's first day Tuesday that included claiming responsibility for the attack that killed 13 people at the Texas military post. He posed no questions to most witnesses and rarely spoke. On one of the few times he did talk, it was to get on the record that the alleged murder weapon was his -- even though no one had asked.