7 killed in shootings at Fort Hood, Pentagon says

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

This is so horrible. I hate even thinking about how it went down. Just two people with handguns did this.

Just one killer, and one serviceman who brought him down.

I am positively thrilled that this will heard in a military court, and not some namby-pamby civilian court.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I am positively thrilled that this will heard in a military court, and not some namby-pamby civilian court.

I'm assuming this is because of the death penalty, but military courts actually use the death penalty WAY less than any others. Additionally, military courts are MUCH more "fair" (not necessarily lenient) in their rules and procedures than most jurisdictions, at least in my opinion.

"Namby-pamby" is entirely misplaced here. If anything, military courts are less likely to enact the strictest penalty (assuming that's death, in your opinion).

I'd assume he'll still be put to death as a result, but he'll be a marked rarity.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

Little known fact, but most base security in the US is actually done by civilian police officers employed by the DoD. Both of the people who stopped the attack were civilian base police officers.

Originally Posted by KSig RC

I'm assuming this is because of the death penalty, but military courts actually use the death penalty WAY less than any others. Additionally, military courts are MUCH more "fair" (not necessarily lenient) in their rules and procedures than most jurisdictions, at least in my opinion.

"Namby-pamby" is entirely misplaced here. If anything, military courts are less likely to enact the strictest penalty (assuming that's death, in your opinion).

I'd assume he'll still be put to death as a result, but he'll be a marked rarity.

I stand (sit) corrected on both counts. My knowledge of military courts is pretty much limited to the 19th century.

There is a part of me who doesn't want him to be martyred, either. I also don't want to see any of the Armed Forces put on trial for not reporting Hassan for his prior "problems", either.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I stand (sit) corrected on both counts. My knowledge of military courts is pretty much limited to the 19th century.

There is a part of me who doesn't want him to be martyred, either. I also don't want to see any of the Armed Forces put on trial for not reporting Hassan for his prior "problems", either.

I agree with most of this, but the more we learn about the warning signs, the more I wonder if it won't take a "public" airing of the laundry to get changes made, or even address what happened.

It's actually a really deep issue . . . were the warning signs ignored because, as some (particularly right-wing) pundits have offered, individuals didn't want to appear like they were singling out a Muslim? Were these issues fully examined and deemed noteworthy but ultimately unactionable (I really, really hope this winds up being the case)? Was it a communications break-down? It's traumatic and basically a one-off incident, but is it indicative of a cultural issue within the military (or the interaction between the FBI/law enforcement and the military, or similar)?

While the trial is basically open-and-shut, the ancillary issues are fascinating.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I

I also don't want to see any of the Armed Forces put on trial for not reporting Hassan for his prior "problems", either.

I do. They should be.

[Psi U MC Vito]

The Daily News did a piece on this today. One of the soldiers that was killed had just returned from Iraq and was pregnant. Really sad.

[Psi U MC Vito]

It wasn't even a serviceman who stopped him. It was two civilian police officers. I do agree I'm glad this is going to a court martial instead of a civilian trial.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

It wasn't even a serviceman who stopped him. It was two civilian police officers. I do agree I'm glad this is going to a court martial instead of a civilian trial.

I haven't read much about it (I retain better when I read), but wasn't a woman involved in bringing him down? Was she an off duty police officer, or part of the military?

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I haven't read much about it (I retain better when I read), but wasn't a woman involved in bringing him down? Was she an off duty police officer, or part of the military?

Little known fact, but most base security in the US is actually done by civilian police officers employed by the DoD. Both of the people who stopped the attack were civilian base police officers.

[epchick]

One of the soldiers killed in the attack was from my city. He was 52 years old, and went to school with a bunch of my family members.

[DrPhil]

The first shot was fired by a civilian officer who happens to be a female.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I stand (sit) corrected on both counts. My knowledge of military courts is pretty much limited to the 19th century.

There is a part of me who doesn't want him to be martyred, either. I also don't want to see any of the Armed Forces put on trial for not reporting Hassan for his prior "problems", either.

Actually I do wonder, what civilian crimes does the Federal government have a death penalty for. Is murder one of them?

Originally Posted by DrPhil

The first shot was fired by a civilian officer who happens to be a female.

Who's nickname was Mighty Mouse. She got shot three times before going down, which is impressive.

[Psi U MC Vito]

I do agree somebody screwed up big time. The man was a shrink working with other shrinks on a regular basis. How did none of them realize he wasn't completely stable. Though I think this might have been partially caused by over sensitivity to religious freedom.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

I do agree somebody screwed up big time. The man was a shrink working with other shrinks on a regular basis. How did none of them realize he wasn't completely stable. Though I think this might have been partially caused by over sensitivity to religious freedom.

I agree. However, I think there was also something else at play. Elitism doesn't seem like the right word, but basically I'm trying to say I think the fact that he was a psychiatrist also had something to do with it. I think sometimes people think that folks who are in certain positions really wouldn't do something like this...especially not a shrink.