Showing posts with label mass murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mass murder. Show all posts

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Fort Hood Massacre Hero Suffering

The trial seems to have settled the question about what the massacre at Fort Hood was all about. It was a terrorist act by one of their own. The murder admitted it. Leaving these soldiers and their families suffering is beyond wrong. What are the excuses now? When will the families finally see justice?
Red Lion soldier who helped during Fort Hood shooting faces health challenges
Ryan Walton, 27, received a medal for his actions during the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
By TED CZECH
Daily Record/Sunday News
UPDATED: 11/01/2013

Ryan Walton is pictured with his Meritorious Service Medal in October at his home in York Township. He had an image of the medal tattooed on his arm so he would always carry it with him. He says he doesn't want to forget the painful moments he witnessed because they are part of who he is now.
(Paul Kuehnel - Daily Record/Sunday News)
Ryan Walton lies on the bed most of the day -- it's a single, hospital-issue, and barely big enough for his 6 foot, 5 inch frame. It's sandwiched between the couch and the stairs in his Red Lion townhouse.

Three years ago, he stood on the dais at Fort Hood, Texas, receiving the Meritorious Service Medal for running in when others ran out during the 2009 massacre, in which 13 people died and more than 30 were injured.

"It was very sad," he said. "But we all knew what we did and it was an honor to be there and receive it."

That day, he just happened to be driving through the fort when he came upon bloody victims who had fled as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire.

Walton, now 27, carried bodies out of the building, slinging them over his broad shoulders.

He started IVs in victims and advocated for the more seriously injured victims who were passed over by paramedics.

But before that day, he had already suffered injuries in Iraq and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I think, all in all, Nov. 5 is what ruined me," he said.
read more here

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Patriot Guard Riders give welcome-home escort to Fort Hood survivor

Patriot Guard Riders give welcome-home escort to Fort Hood survivor
Charlotte Observer
By Lindsay Ruebens
Sep. 22, 2013

Army Spc. Matthew Cooke swung onto a motorcycle Saturday afternoon and rode off to begin what he said will be a new chapter in his life.

Cooke survived five bullet wounds in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings. He was 30. Cooke is finally moving home with his parents in Norwood, in Stanly County, after being honorably discharged from the Army a few days ago. He spent the past four years recovering at Fort Hood, where he was shot three times in the back and once in the groin and a bullet grazed his head.

To welcome him back, some well-wishers and his family greeted him at the American Red Cross Emergency Disaster Operations Center in Charlotte, along with about 20 Patriot Guard Riders who escorted him home.

The Patriot Guard Riders is a national group whose members ride motorcycles and aim to protect dignity and respect for military families, usually at funerals.

One rider blared Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.”
read more here

Sunday, September 22, 2013

President Obama to join victims' families at Navy Yard shooting memorial

President Obama to join victims' families at Navy Yard shooting memorial
NBC News
By Elisha Fieldstadt
September 22, 2013

President Barack Obama and the first lady will join families of the victims of Monday’s deadly Navy Yard shooting at a memorial service in the nation’s capital on Sunday.

The service is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the Washington Marine Barracks, just blocks from where authorities say Aaron Alexis shot and killed 12 navy yard workers on Monday afternoon and injured eight others.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel are all scheduled to attend. The president is expected to speak at 5:30 p.m.
read more here
UPDATE

President Obama joins victims' families at Navy Yard shooting memorial

Veterans fear being stigmatized in wake of shooting

Veterans fear being stigmatized in wake of shooting
By WASHINGTON POST
September 21, 2013

Will Simmons felt a sickening sense of familiarity when news bulletins scrolling across his computer screen Monday identified the Washington Navy Yard shooter as a veteran.

“I thought, 'Here we go again,' “ recalled Simmons, 31, an Iraq war veteran who was at his pharmaceutical office job in New Jersey that day. “It's going to turn into a disgruntled veteran story. It was like a punch in the gut to see it was a vet.“

Many veterans groups and advocates complain that news media portrayals of onetime Navy reservist Aaron Alexis as a troubled veteran plays into a stereotype that causes problems for former members of the military.

“They talk about it like it's some sort of explanation,“ said Tom Tarantino, chief of policy for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “It perpetuates the stigma of the ticking time bomb or disturbed vets. To talk about it as relevant is not only insulting, but it also does a disservice to hundreds of thousands of veterans.“

Some warn that calls to clamp down on security clearances for federal workers and contractors who have mental-health issues could discourage veterans from seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered a broad review of the security clearance procedures.

Simmons said he was concerned about assumptions that the attack was tied to Alexis' military service and speculation about possible post-traumatic stress. Alexis did not deploy for overseas service.

“As someone diagnosed with PTSD, that was pretty offensive,“ said Simmons, who served at Balad Air Base in 2007 with an Air Force Office of Special Investigation unit that came under fire during counterterrorism operations. “Shooter-veteran-PTSD - it all gets lumped together.“
read more here

PTSD trauma survivors are on the job every day, actions of one not all

Friday, September 20, 2013

PTSD trauma survivors are on the job every day, actions of one not all

Erin Burnett of CNN has a great question up on Facebook.

Erin Burnett OutFront 
Should Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) be flagged before getting a security clearance from the United States government? Many in the military would say no -- wanting to "de-stigmatize" veterans suffering from PTSD, which in many cases has been tied to the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. What do you think? Erin Burnett tackles this issue #OutFront at 7p ET onCNN.
It is a great question because reporters are trying to make sense out of what happened after the shooting at the Navy yard leaving 12 people dead, 8 wounded and a couple of thousand shocked. Most of the questions have come after the shooter's history was made public. Most are wondering how in the hell he kept his security clearance as if PTSD should have taken him off his job instead of understanding that we have thousands on the job everyday with PTSD and doing just fine.

The troops with PTSD are redeployed over and over again depending on their ability to do their jobs. Some are able because the level of PTSD they have is low enough they can still function well. For others, their levels are so high they have many health effects to deal with including lack of sleep with nightmares, more flashbacks topped off with constant stress. They are not dangerous to others but are more dangerous to themselves. Then there are the rare few with PTSD who are a danger to "society" because other things are going on with them.

The Navy yard shooter should have been taken off his job so he could have gotten treatment and when he was better, given back his job. That didn't happen. Doctors are required to report mental health patients if they are a danger to themselves or others. (I am even required to do that too as a Chaplain.) They should have seen the warning light flashing over the shooter's head instead of just hearing the denials coming out of his mouth.

We need to remember that there are a lot of cops on the job with PTSD along with firefighters and emergency responders. We have a nation full of National Guardsmen and Reservists with PTSD as well as veterans but we don't have a nation full of them committing crimes. The numbers show that they are more likely to harm themselves than they are even thinking of harming someone else.

We also need to remember that civilians end up with PTSD as well. If you take the almost 8 million Americans with PTSD and the fraction of them committing crimes, you'll have a better idea of how rare it is for them to "snap" and commit crimes and even more rare to commit mass murder.

So we're going to keep reading reports with reporters asking a lot of questions as if PTSD trauma survivors should all be lumped together instead of knowing they are all different and not all dangerous.

If you are a veteran with PTSD please fill Erin in on what she needs to learn.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Who were the victims of the Navy Yard shooting?

Who were the victims of the Navy Yard shooting?
CNN
By Holly Yan and Alan Duke
September 18, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A woman struck in the head is released from the hospital
A daughter of one man says she doesn't want her father remembered as a victim
Authorities release the names of the 12 people killed; another eight were injured
Among the dead was Kathy Gaarde, who loved animals and counted bluebirds for a refuge

(CNN) -- They were civilians and contractors, just starting their day at a massive military compound that's normally a bastion of safety.
But for reasons that may never be known, a former Navy reservist cut their lives short when he went on a shooting rampage at Washington's Navy Yard on Monday. Twelve families were left anguished.

Sylvia Frasier, 53, of Waldorf, Maryland
John Roger Johnson, 73, of Derwood, Maryland
Frank Kohler, 50, of Tall Timbers, Maryland
Vishnu Bhalchandra Pandit, 61, of North Potomac, Maryland
Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46, of Waldorf, Maryland
Richard Michael Ridgell, 52, of Westminster, Maryland
Michael Arnold, 59, of Lorton, Virginia
Martin Bodrog, 54, of Annandale, Virginia
Kathy Gaarde, 62, of Woodbridge, Virginia
Mary Francis Knight, 51, of Reston, Virginia
Gerald L. Read, 58, of Alexandria, Virginia
Arthur Daniels, 51, of southeast Washington, D.C.
read more here

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Did recruitment issues let gunman in the military?

Aaron Alexis Enlisted In Navy During Period Of Criminal Record Waivers
Huffington Post
David Wood
Posted: 09/17/2013

Alleged Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis was able to enlist in the Navy in 2007, despite an earlier shooting incident in which he claimed to have "blacked out" -- a record which normally might have disqualified him for military service.

But at the time, the Navy and the other military services were struggling to reach their wartime recruiting goals, and were granting thousands of waivers to potential recruits with criminal backgrounds.

The Navy declined to release Alexis' personnel records, and a spokesman for the Navy Recruiting Command, in Millington, Tenn., said the command does not keep data on waivers.

Navy officials confirmed Tuesday that during his military service, Alexis was cited for many instances of misconduct, including unauthorized absence from work, insubordination, absence without leave, disorderly conduct and a minor failure of a room inspection.

Military recruiting standards, according to a Defense Department directive, are intended to screen out individuals "who are likely to become disciplinary cases or security risks or who disrupt good order, morale and discipline." The directive allows senior officers to authorize some exceptions to the standards, known as waivers.
read more here

Monday, September 16, 2013

Washington Navy Yard Day From Hell

Live updates: Navy Yard shooter 'had a pattern of misconduct'
LA Times
By Richard Simon, David S. Cloud and Brian Bennett
September 16, 2013

WASHINGTON — The 34-year-old former Navy electrician’s mate identified as the gunman who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard had been discharged from the service in 2011 after multiple disciplinary infractions, a Navy officer said Monday.

Aaron Alexis “had a pattern of misconduct,” the official said.

Law enforcement officials have identified Alexis as the shooter who went on a two-hour rampage at the sprawling naval base in Washington, but have not yet said what they believe was his motive.

Alexis, a native of New York, who served in the Navy from 2007 to 2011 as an aviation electrician’s mate 3rd class, entered the base early Monday morning, authorities said, perhaps using another man’s identification card to pass through the gates.

Once inside, officials said, he headed for the massive Building 197, the headquarters of the Navy Sea Systems Command. Armed with three weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle, he went to the building’s fourth floor, according to officials. About 8:15 a.m., according to witness accounts and police dispatch recordings, the gunman began shooting down into a crowded atrium that houses an employee cafeteria.

Washington police and Navy security officials engaged in “multiple” exchanges of fire with Alexis over the next two hours, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier told reporters, eventually shooting and killing him.
From 2008 until his discharge in 2011, Alexis was a member of an aviation support squadron based in Fort Worth, Texas, where he worked on C-40s, a military version of the Boeing 737 that the Navy uses as a cargo plane. Law enforcement officials said that he was more recently working as a military contractor. read more here

13 killed in Navy Yard shooting rampage
Dead suspect identified
CNN
By Barbara Starr. Catherine E. Shoichet and Pamela Brown
updated 5:02 PM EDT, Mon September 16, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: DC mayor: "We don't have any reason at this stage to suspect terrorism"
13 people now are confirmed dead in the shooting
The FBI seeks the public's help tracking down information about the suspect
Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old military contractor, is the dead suspect, the FBI says

Washington (CNN) -- The FBI has identified the dead suspect in Monday's shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard as Aaron Alexis, 34, a military contractor from Texas.

The suspect was positively identified using fingerprints and ID, the Washington FBI Field Office said, asking members of the public for assistance tracking down information about Alexis.

"No piece of information is too small," said Valerie Parlave, assistant director in charge of the office.

"We are looking to learn everything we can about his recent movements, his contacts and associates."

Authorities said at least 13 people -- including the suspect -- were killed and about a dozen others were injured in the shooting, which put government buildings on lockdown and sent police SWAT teams rushing to the scene.

Witness: "He aimed his gun at us" and fired

Maintenance worker tried to warn others in D.C. Navy Yard rampage

Timeline of Navy Yard shooting developments

Commander saw man shot in head

Monday, September 2, 2013

Ft. Hood victims and survivors deserve answers

Ft. Hood victims and survivors deserve answers
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 2, 2013

Lawmakers are pushing for Fort Hood families to have justice but no one seems to be asking what should be included in all of what they deserve. This is good for a start but far from fulfilling what they are owed.
Lawmakers to file bill to give benefits for Ft. Hood victims
KVUE News
by JESSICA VESS
September 2, 2013

KILLEEN, TX -- A group of lawmakers is filing new Legislation this week to get benefits for the victims of the Fort Hood shooting.

Senator John Cornyn and Congressmen John Carter and Roger Williams are presenting a bill called the "Honoring the Fort Hood Heroes Act." It would give both military and civilian victims the same status that was given to the victims of the September 11th attacks.

The fight for those rights has been building over the past year.

160 victims and their families released a 14-minute video last year asking for help.

To get more benefits, the Government must agree to change the status of the shooting. It's currently labeled as workplace violence, not an act of terror.
read more here



Widow of N. St. Paul native killed at Fort Hood speaks out
KARE 11 News
Boua Xiong
September 2, 2013

NORTH ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Kham Xiong had a way with people. In eighth grade he charmed himself right into Shoua Her's heart.

"He always knows what to do to make me happy and he was very caring and loving," Her said.

The two married right after high school in 2004 and dreamed of having kids, a big house, and a military career. Four years ago Xiong moved Her and their three kids from North St. Paul to Fort Hood, Texas to pursue his dream.

Xiong was getting ready for his first deployment when Her got word about a shooting on base. "I immediately texted Kham and he didn't reply back and I called and he didn't pick up so I started to get worried," she said.
read more here

Now let's look back at the beginning and how the press has reported this. First we begin with the reports from CNN on the Fort Hood massacre.

On November 5, 2009 at 6:14 pm CNN reported these highlights.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Source: Slain gunman identified as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan (wrong)
NEW: One of the dead was a civilian police officer, official says
NEW: Senator says she was told soldiersere filling out paperwork to go overseas
More than one shooter may have been involved, Fort Hood spokesman says
(CNN) -- Eleven people plus a gunman were dead and 31 wounded after the gunman opened fire Thursday on a soldier-processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, officials said.

November 5, 2009 9:24 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Suepect in shootings wounded but alive, Army official says
Source: Gunman identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist
Senator: Hasan was "upset" about scheduled deployment to Iraq (wrong)
Shooting happened in building that is one of last stops before soldiers deploy

(CNN) -- At least one soldier opened fire on a military processing center at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, killing 12 and wounding 31 others, officials at the Army base said.

PBS did a report that caught my attention since I had been on Fort Hood for a visit a few months before this happened. Several soldiers and family members were complaining about the lack of proper mental health treatment. It was bad before this day however considering Hasan was in fact part of the "treatment" they were getting, even with the attitude he had, no one was asking how many he treated got worse afterwards because of what he said to them or if gave proper medications.

Major Hasan was trained by the military to address combat trauma for our troops. Keep that in mind. If he kept getting bad reviews for how he treated soldiers, what was he telling them? Did he even know anything about PTSD considering he was trained around the same time they were still kicking out soldiers for "personality disorders" instead of PTSD? Did he end up involved with any of the soldiers who ended up committing suicide or trying to end their own lives?

If you think it isn't possible for him to play some kind of twisted mind game then you need to know what he was saying in 2007.
"It's getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims," he said during the PowerPoint presentation before his supervisors and other mental health staff members, according to the paper.
"US military doctors had worried that the suspected gunman in the Fort Hood shootings was "psychotic" and unstable but did not seek to sack him, National Public Radio reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed officials." But somehow none of this got tied into the fact that Ft. Hood had 10 soldier suicides in 2009 before this and "the second-highest of any Army post."
Sgt. Justin "Jon" Garza was one of them.
"While he was AWOL, Garza threatened to kill himself with a shotgun. Military personnel took him to Ft. Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center. Psychiatrists there diagnosed him with an adjustment disorder and depression and sent him home with his best friend, a fellow soldier. He was put on a Monday-through-Friday suicide watch. Eleven days later, on July 11 -- a Saturday -- Garza was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head."

This is how they were reporting about Hasan taking guesses instead of knowing any basic facts as it turned out.
An Army psychiatrist is suspected in the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, and the rampage is raising questions about whether there's enough help for the helpers, even though it's unclear whether that stress or fear of his pending service in Afghanistan might be to blame. An uncle of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan said Saturday that Hasan was deeply affected by his work treating soldiers returning from war zones. "I think I saw him with tears in his eyes when he was talking about some of patients, when they came overseas from the battlefield," Rafik Hamad told The Associated Press from his home near the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Fort Hood Shooting: A Closer Look at Soldiers and PTSD

Fort Hood, the site of Thursday's horrific attack on U.S. soldiers, was the focus of a NOW on PBS report about American troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Many of the thousands of U.S. troops discharged from the Army each year suffer from PTSD and say they lack the vital care they need. The Army claimed these soldiers were let go due to pre-existing mental illnesses or because they were guilty of misconduct. But advocates argue this was a way for the Army to get rid of "problem" soldiers quickly, without giving them the treatment and benefits to which they're entitled.

In our online coverage, NOW interviewed two Fort Hood soldiers about the personal trauma they experienced while fighting in Iraq.

That day I posted this.
Aftermath of Fort Hood shootings may be worse

As the news reports kept coming out today about the carnage at Fort Hood, my greatest fears were not for today, but for the next few months ahead. No one is talking about "secondary stressors" and this needs to be addressed quickly.

There are crisis teams heading there according to the press briefing by Lt. Gen. Robert Cone. This is one of the best things they can do. I spent months taking this kind of training and it is very thorough. The issue that we need to be concerned about is when there are thousands of soldiers, combat soldiers with multiple tours, many of them are dealing with mild PTSD. Mild PTSD is not that hard to cope with. They live pretty normal lives while covering up the pain they have inside. Many even cope well the rest of their lives but many do not. Like a ticking time bomb, PTSD rests waiting to strike if untreated. It waits for the next traumatic event and then mild PTSD turns into PTSD on steroids.

These are the soldiers that will need the greatest help as soon as possible.

These bases are very well secured. That makes the soldiers and their families feel safe. Think about going into combat and then making it home alive where you are supposed to be safe. Then having this happen.

"Francheska Velez, 21, from Chicago, was filling out paperwork when Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on the Texas base. She had only just returned from a tour in Iraq three days before, coming back early because she was pregnant, her father Juan Velez told Fox News Chicago. She was expecting a baby boy in May, he said." She was heard screaming for her unborn baby.

"Staff Sgt. Amy Krueger decided she was willing to put her life at risk for her country the instant a second airplane crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. "We looked at each other and knew, and the next day we were in the recruiter's office," recalled Kristin Thayer, who watched the attack with Krueger in a commons area at a college in Sheboygan. "Anything it took, anything our country needed of us, even if that meant giving our lives."

Among the dead were two VA employees. "Russell G. Seager, Ph.D., a 51-year old nurse practitioner at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee was killed in the deadly attack. He was a captain in the reserves." Juanita L. Warman, 55, a nurse practitioner at VA's medical center in Perry Point, Md. She was a lieutenant colonel in the Maryland National Guard, with two daughters and six grandchildren. She wanted to help female soldiers

There was a lot of guessing going on back then. Two psychiatrist were questioning Hasan's involvement with soldiers.
"First, I'd get a list of all the patients he'd ever treated and get in contact with them," said Dr. Thomas P. Lowry, a psychiatrist who served two years as a doctor in the Air Force and then held the top psychiatry positions at four hospitals before retiring in 1999. It's important to know how the doctor's former patients perceived him and understand the care they received, he said.

Dr. Jonathan Shay, who spent 20 years as a Veterans Affairs Department psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of combat trauma before retiring last year, said some of Hasan's former patients might worry that the stories they shared in therapy sessions could have contributed to the doctor's state of mind, or even feel some responsibility for the killings.

This has to be the only time Jonathan Shay has been wrong but it was based on what the media was reporting at the time. What else could he think considering no one ever thought someone feared to be psychotic would ever be able to "treat" soldiers or even more absurd, hate them and still be in that position.

Or that this was possible.
In late December 2004, one of the officers overseeing Army Maj. Nidal Hasan’s medical training praised him in an official evaluation as a qualified and caring doctor who would be an asset in any post.

But less than a week later, a committee at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center that oversees student performance met behind closed doors to discuss serious concerns about Hasan’s questionable behavior, poor judgment and lack of drive.

Disconnects such this were a familiar pattern throughout Hasan’s lengthy medical education in the Washington area, according to information gathered during an internal Pentagon review of the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, and obtained by The Associated Press.

The review has not been publicly released, but the emerging picture is one of supervisors who failed to heed their own warnings about an officer ill-suited to be an Army psychiatrist, according to the information.
After all this is the type of things they do when they do really care.
Capt. John Gaffaney, 56, a psychiatric nurse. But according to varying eyewitness accounts, Gaffaney either picked up a chair and threw it at Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan, the accused killer, or physically rushed him from across the room.

Army Maj. Gen. Lie-Ping Chang, commander of the reserve force to which Gaffaney belonged, said that two eyewitnesses recounted how the reservist threw a folding chair and "tried to knock (Hasan) down or knock his gun down." Chang included this account in an essay submitted to USA Today.

Army Reserve Col. Kathy Platoni, a clinical psychologist who served with Gaffaney, said she was told that he rushed Hasan to within inches before being shot several times.

Platoni said she comforted Gaffaney as he lay dying in a building nearby where soldiers brought him after he was mortally wounded, ripping off pieces of their uniform to use as pressure bandages or tourniquets to stem his massive bleeding from multiple wounds.

“I just started talking to him and holding his hand and saying, ‘John, you're going to be OK. You're going to be OK. You've just got to fight,’” Platoni recalls.

He died shortly after that, she says. "I was still yelling, 'John, don't go. John, don't go.’”
But less than a year later Fort Hood was reporting "Four soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas died over the week. In all four cases, it appears the soldiers, all decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, took their own lives, according to Christopher Haug, a Fort Hood spokesman."

Then there was Staff Sgt. Josh Berry, wounded when the shooter opened fire inside a crowded medical building at the sprawling Army post in Texas.

While he was not one of the 13 soldiers who lost their lives or the 32 others who were struck by bullets, Josh Berry struggled through years of pain and suffering caused by the attack before he couldn't handle it anymore, family members said. The Mason native committed suicide on Feb. 13, 2013.

How many more committed suicide because of this? How many were discharged because of what Hasan did? How many lives were changed forever because of how much the military itself failed them? So many questions still needing answers and too few trying to find what real justice should be.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan Gets Death Penalty

Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan Gets Death Penalty
ABC News
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
via WORLD NEWS
Aug. 28, 2013

Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, was unanimously sentenced to death today by a jury of military officers.

A sentence of death was all but inevitable for Hasan, a Muslim American who represented himself during the court martial and whose own standby lawyers accused him of cooperating with the prosecution to hasten his "martyrdom."

"He is a criminal. He is a cold-blooded murderer," prosecutor Col. Mike Mulligan said today, according to the Associated Press. "This is not his gift to God. This is his debt to society. This is the cost of his murderous rampage."

Last week, Hasan was found guilty on all counts, including 13 charges of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.
read more here

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Justice not served at Fort Hood with Hasan conviction

When Nidal Hasan was convicted in Fort Hood shootings some people think it is over and done with. It isn't even close but you won't hear about all the other things that were never allowed to bring justice for the families or for the wounded.

The first issue should have been why he was able to not only wear the uniform he claimed he didn't want to with his clean shaven face he suddenly had a religious obligation to cover with hair, but the fact he was still being paid. Does he have to pay that money back? If so, then where will the money go? How about the families get it?

Next is the position he held in the military. He was a psychiatrist treating soldiers while he admitted he hated them and what they were doing. Was anyone held accountable for that? What happened to the soldiers he treated? Were they given proper treatment? Were they given deadly medications? Were they discharged under personality disorder instead of being treated for PTSD?

What about all the higher ranking officers that kept him on the job? Did any of them have to face the consequences for what he did? Did any of them actually have to face the families and explain how he was allowed to wear the same uniform and treat soldiers he hated enough to want to kill?

I've read just about everything on this man and what he did but not once have I ever felt that justice was served.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Nidal Hasan convicted in Fort Hood shootings

Nidal Hasan convicted in Fort Hood shootings; jurors can decide death
By Chelsea J. Carter, CNN
updated 7:28 PM EDT, Fri August 23, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Husband of a victim says death penalty "would be too lenient" for Hasan
Penalty phase begins Monday, death penalty can be considered
Jurors "will decide whether you live or die," judge tells Hasan
Maj. Nidal Hasan is convicted of 13 counts of murder

Fort Hood, Texas (CNN) -- A military jury on Friday convicted Army Maj. Nidal Hasan of 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, making it possible for the death penalty to be considered as a punishment.

The jurors deliberated less than seven hours over two days before finding Hasan guilty on all charges in connection with the November 5, 2009, shootings at a deployment process center.

The Army psychiatrist admitted to targeting soldiers he was set to deploy with to Afghanistan, saying previously he wanted to protect the Taliban and its leaders from the U.S. military.

Under the rules of a military court-martial, the jury must return a unanimous verdict of premeditated murder for the death penalty to be considered as a punishment option. The jury is not required to tell the court whether they reached a unanimous verdict on the attempted murder charges.

The court-martial moves on Monday to the penalty phase, where Hasan -- acting as his own attorney -- will have the opportunity to address the jurors considering whether he should be executed for his actions.
read more here

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Premeditation at heart of closing remarks in Hasan case

Premeditation at heart of closing remarks in Hasan case
Stars and Stripes
By Jennifer Hlad
Published: August 22, 2013

FORT HOOD, Texas — In the prosecution’s closing statement, Col. Steve Henricks on Thursday asked the panel of military officers in charge of deciding Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s fate to return a unanimous verdict — leaving unspoken that the government will seek the death penalty if they do.

Hasan elected to not to give any closing statement.

There is no doubt, Henricks said, that Hasan killed 13 people, injured 31 others and shot at police officer Sgt. Mark Todd on Nov. 5, 2009. But what the case boils down to, he said, is premeditation. Hasan on Wednesday chose to call no witnesses and declined to testify on his own behalf.

Thursday morning, the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, told the jury they should consider the 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder against Hasan, but if they feel there is reasonable doubt on any of those charges, they may consider charges of unpremeditated murder, attempted unpremeditated murder, aggravated assault in which grievous bodily harm is inflicted with a firearm, and, in one case, aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon.
read more here

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Hasan shot soldiers multiple times at Fort Hood

Pathologists testify Hasan shot soldiers multiple times, from several angles
Stars and Stripes
By Jennifer Hlad
Published: August 15, 2013

FORT HOOD, Texas — Michael Cahill was shot six times. Spc. Jason Hunt was shot three times.Spc. Frederick Greene was shot 12 times.

As the shooter moved through a clinic at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, he shot soldiers again and again, from various angles, according to the military officers who performed the autopsies who testified Thursday as the trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan continued.

Greene was shot so many times that the medical examiner who did his autopsy found it difficult to determine the path the bullets took, using a metal rod to ensure he was correct. He concluded that the shooter and Greene were likely moving during the incident, and Greene may have been attempting to subdue Hasan.
read more here

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Fort Hood massacre survivors talk about having to play dead

'It smelled like gunpowder, feces, blood': Soldiers recall Fort Hood rampage in court
NBC News
By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer
August 8, 2013

Nearly four years after the deadliest attack at a U.S. military installation, Army soldiers testified about the day that changed their lives forever in Fort Hood, Texas.

"There were a lot of bodies on the ground. The chairs were overturned, a lot of blood on the floor. It smelled like gunpowder, feces, blood. Pretty bad," said Staff Sgt. Michael Davis, who thought the gunfire was a drill until "I saw somebody get hit, I saw a blood spray," Reuters reported.

Soldiers recalled the searing pain of bullets ripping through their skin on Nov. 5, 2009. They described playing dead to avoid being injured further and making futile efforts to save their friends.
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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Fort Hood Shooter admits to treason?

If Hasan says he was defending Taliban leaders, doesn't that mean he just admitted to committing treason?
Fort Hood Suspect Says Rampage Was to Defend Afghan Taliban Leaders
New York Times
By MANNY FERNANDEZ
Published: June 4, 2013

KILLEEN, Tex. — Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people, told a judge on Tuesday that he believed he was defending the lives of the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan from American military personnel when he went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood here in November 2009.

Major Hasan’s remarks were the first public explanation about the motive for one of the deadliest mass shootings at an American military base. His comments came a day after the judge granted his request to release his court-appointed military lawyers so that he could represent himself.

On Monday, one of Major Hasan’s first legal maneuvers had been to ask the judge, Col. Tara A. Osborn, for a three-month delay in his trial, scheduled to begin on July 1. His primary reason in asking for the delay was to change his defense to a “defense of others.” At a new hearing on Tuesday, Colonel Osborn asked him pointedly whom he was defending.
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Saturday, June 1, 2013

Police look for trauma support after Boston bombing

Police look for trauma support after Boston bombing
By Maria Cramer
GLOBE STAFF
JUNE 01, 2013

Boston Police Department officials said they are worried about long-term psychological effects of the Marathon bombings on their officers and are searching for ways to pay for more mental health specialists.

“We have an entire department that was impacted by the Marathon and many, many officers who saw things they should never have seen and endured things they should never have endured,” said Superintendent-in-Chief Daniel Linskey. “We’re going to have make sure they’re getting services not just for the first 12 to 24 hours [after the bombing], but the first week, the first month, the first year, and next five years down the road.”

In the days following the bombings, 600 officers were ordered to attend sessions called debriefings, in which they broke off in smaller groups to talk about the horror of that day. New York City police sent 18 retired and active officers trained in counseling to help Boston’s Critical Incident Management Team, which is composed of 45 officers trained in peer counseling.

The Boston Police department also contracts with three clinicians, but in the long run, the department will need even more help to respond to any psychological effects on officers in the weeks, months, and even years to come, Linskey said.

“Officers [generally] see horrific scenes and violent scenes that can have a cumulative effect on people over the years,” he said. “We’re going to have to invest additional resources.”
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Boston Police after bombs

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Will Fort Hood Families ever get justice after massacre?

There is just no way to put it otherwise. First it was delaying the trial over the "shooter" wanting to have a beard. He said it was his religious right but didn't manage to explain why he didn't have to have one before the massacre. The families had to wait.

Now it is all about him once again and the DOD is saying that the Purple Heart for the wounded and murdered would "adversely affect the trial" so families have to wait again!

Defense Department says giving Purple Heart to Fort Hood survivors would hurt Hasan trial
By Pamela Browne, Catherine Herridge
Published March 30, 2013
FoxNews.com

Legislation that would award the injured from the 2009 Fort Hood shooting the Purple Heart would adversely affect the trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan by labeling the attack terrorism, according to a Defense Department document obtained by Fox News.

The document comes following calls from survivors and their families for the military honor, because they say Fort Hood was turned into a battlefield when Hasan opened fire during the November 2009 attack. Fox News is told that the DOD “position paper” is being circulated specifically in response to the proposed legislation.
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Will they honor the wounded and the families after the trial is finally over? Will they finally get some justice then?

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Congress finally address Fort Hood massacre

ABC News Fort Hood Investigation Spurs Congressional Inquiry
By NED BERKOWITZ
March 15, 2013

In the wake of an ABC News report in which victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting said that they feel neglected by the military and "betrayed" by President Obama, Republican lawmakers are demanding new information on the administration's handling of the attack's aftermath, including what role the Justice Department may have played in the military deeming the shooting "workplace violence."

"We remain committed to addressing the intelligence and administrative failures leading up to the attack, as well as learning more about the administration's inexplicable decision to charge [suspected shooter] Maj. [Nidal] Hasan's crime 'workplace violence' instead of terrorism," Rep. Michael McCaul (R.-Texas), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder today. The letter, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, was co-signed by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Virg.) and Rep. John Carter (R-Texas).
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Saturday, March 2, 2013

Fort Hood shooter may take plea deal

Fort Hood suspect must describe shooting rampage if he pleads guilty to lesser charges
Published March 01, 2013
Associated Press

FORT HOOD, Texas – More than three years after the deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, an Army psychiatrist may soon describe details of the terrifying attack for the first time, if he's allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges.

Maj. Nidal Hasan would be required to describe his actions and answer questions about the Nov. 5, 2009, attack on the Texas Army post if the judge allows him to plead guilty to the lesser charges, as his attorneys have said he wants to do.

Any plea, which could happen at the next hearing in March, won't stop the much-anticipated court-martial set to begin May 29. He faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder.

Under military law, a judge can't accept a guilty plea for charges that carry the death penalty. Hasan's lawyers have said he is ready to plead guilty to charges of unpremeditated murder, which don't carry a possible death sentence, as well as the 32 attempted premeditated murder charges he faces.
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