Judge orders Maj. Nidal Hasan forcibly shaved for court martial
By Larry Shaughnessy
Col. Gregory Gross, the judge who will oversee the military trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan, ordered the Army psychiatrist to be forcibly shaved for his trial, according to Tyler Broadway, a spokesman at Fort Hood.
The order is likely to trigger an appeal that would further delay the case, which has dragged on now since 2009.
Hasan's attorney had filed an appeal when Gross threatened to order the shaving but the appeals court said it wouldn't issue a decision until the shaving was actually ordered. Thursday's order by Gross opens the door for that appeal.
The last time he was in court, Hasan told the judge, "Your honor, in the name of almighty Allah, I am a Muslim. I believe that my religion requires me to wear a beard."
Gross has said the beard violates Army regulations and Hasan is still an officer in the U.S. Army and subject to regulations.
Hasan's court-martial had been scheduled to start last month at Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, where he is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32.
His lawyers can now go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, an independent tribunal with worldwide jurisdiction over active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces and others subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The District of Columbia-based court is made up of five civilian judges appointed for 15-year terms by the president. Decisions of the court are subject to direct appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Such an appeals process could delay Hasan's criminal trial for months if not years.
CNN's Bill Mears contributed to this report
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If this were an Islamic court with a Sharia judge and Hasan would've been a Christian, the judge would've asked Hasan to convert to Islam including his family and relatives and still kill him.
Why doesn't someone higher up just give him an order to shave?
Uh, the judge (higher ranked military officer) did and Hasan refused. Any other ideas?
This guy is just happily wasting as much of the resources of his perceived enemy as he can.
Why would we even consider granting this individual any rights (like the one to have facial hair because Allah says it's ok) when he deprived so many others of their basic right to life? And how can that delay justice? I will never understand how the courts can get bogged down for such frivolous lawyer BS. Only in the US...
Because if we throw out the process when it's unpopular, or whenever we feel like it, we weaken the process' authority in those times when we want to use it. He has the right to file this appeal and it is imperative that we respect the procedures laid out in the UCMJ that he is subject to. The fact that he has committed a heinous crime does not relieve us of the responsibility to do the right thing.
Great post, Guest. Never let up with revealing the ramifications of giving up our values as an American people. We must conquer fear and not allow it to change us as a people.
That's the very way we differentiate in our thinking and way of doing things with likes of Nidal. We have to be careful not to turn into one of these while we rightly punish them for their deeds.
I am glad to call individuals like yourself fellow citizens of our country. Individuals like yourself are exceptional representatives of our country's greatness. I only hope more Americans can come to see the world in the same manner you express. We must be careful not to become that which we struggle to overcome. Intolerance is so easy to yield too, we must strive to remain loyal to our exceptional values.
I am Muslim and I want special treatment. He will see special treatment while he lives his life at Levenworth.
He will become Bubba's little Muslim girlfriend...
It is not that the Quran IS NOT A HOLY BOOK, but the way the extremists and radicals interpret it as orders to slay all who are NOT reading the book as they are.
Um, granny....Have you ever read it yourself or are you blindly following the lies of the media and islamophobes because the Quran certainly doesn't say that.
and taliban killed many irish soldier is afghanistan by force ffffffoooooooorrrrrrrcccccccccccceeeeeee.
What is holy about any book? I can write one now, get some slack jawed hillbillies to keep talking about it, and in 50 years or less, I'll have my own "religion". Look at Sun Mung Moon...what the heck did he ever do besides marry a few thousand people at the same time?
Quran has all kind of weird teachings!! How can Obama call it 'holy Quran'?
What is "holy" about Quran and its creator Mohammad?
Which person living in the middle of the desert 1,400 years ago would know how the fetus forms in the womb? Who would have been able to figure out that the moonlight is reflected light... or salt water and fresh water meet in the ocean, but never mix... or the universe is still expanding... or that olives, honey, figs, fish, milk and dates are health foods...or...need I go on? http://miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_index.html
The military has become a mere shadow of itself..Waisting 10's of millions on private attorneys on appeals for 3 years .Grab the perp by the back of the hair and put a straight razor under his kneck and say "Go ahead make my day"...then oops!