Hearing set to begin into Ft. Hood shootings

The procedure, which will last several weeks and be open to the public, is intended to help the Army decide whether it can court-martial Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in 13 deaths.

By Richard A. Serrano, Tribune Washington Bureau
October 11, 2010
Reporting from Washington — Alma Nemelka said her nephew was the first to die. He was standing at the rear of the Soldier Readiness Center at Ft. Hood, Texas, when an Army officer burst in shouting, "Allahu akbar!'' Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19 and soon to be deployed to the Middle East, was shot in the head.

On Tuesday, the man accused of killing Nemelka and 12 others, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan of the Army Medical Corps, will appear for his first broad military hearing into the November attack. Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim and Army psychiatrist, was shot during the incident and is paralyzed from the waist down.

The hearing, formally called an Article 32 proceeding, is expected to span four to six weeks. Akin to a grand jury hearing but open to the public, it is designed to help the top Army commander at Ft. Hood determine whether there is enough evidence to court-martial Hasan, 40, who could face a death sentence.

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Hearing set to begin into Ft. Hood shootings