{
  "id": 13185950,
  "title": "The U.S. last held a public execution in the 1930s. The Pentagon wants to change that",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/the-u-s-last-held-a-public-execution-in-the-1930s-the-pentagon-wants",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T18:55:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "NPR",
    "slug": "npr",
    "url": "https://www.npr.org/2026/10/09/nx-s1-5996529/firing-squad-livestream-execution-fort-hood-shooter"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Pentagon plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009. This would be the first public execution in the US since the 1930s.\n\nUS Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the execution by firing squad would be livestreamed on December 3. The chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said he would defer to the Pentagon on whether US networks could air the execution.\n\nThe FCC chair, according to CNBC, understood that the execution would not air on broadcast TV. An expert on FCC issues said there is no legal basis for the commission to intervene in a broadcaster’s decision on whether to air a live execution.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "FCC chief defers to Pentagon on airing US execution on TV networks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/fcc-chief-defers-to-pentagon-on-airing-us-execution-on-tv-networks",
        "published": "2026-10-09T17:42:53.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "SABC News",
        "title": "FCC chief defers to Pentagon on airing US execution on TV networks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/fcc-chief-defers-to-pentagon-on-airing-us-execution-on-tv-networks-13174087",
        "published": "2026-10-09T17:45:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBC News",
        "title": "Vance unsure if Pentagon will livestream a prisoner's execution, but he won't be watching",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/vance-unsure-if-pentagon-will-livestream-a-prisoners-execution-but-he",
        "published": "2026-10-09T20:05:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Today",
        "title": "Vance says he does not know if Pentagon will proceed with livestream of Fort Hood gunman's execution",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/vance-says-he-does-not-know-if-pentagon-will-proceed-with-livestream",
        "published": "2026-10-09T20:44:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}