Fort Hood Massacre Trial Set to Begin

Major Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, sat through a pre-trial proccession yesterday where Judge Colonel Tara Osborn turned down plea deals, saying it would be tantamount to admitting guilt to a capital offense, which isn't required under military policy. Hasan has been charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood in November 2009. In an age of multimedia, Judge Osborn ruled that pre-trial publicity wouldn't influence a jury. The trial is set to begin at the end of Spring. Prosecutors feel confident in their ability to prove Hasan was a radical Islamist. They have already shown that Hasan had been in communication via e-mail with a radical cleric who was killed in 2011 by a U.S. drone. The issue of troops' mental health seems to be most prevelant today, but with issues such as Army majors turning on their friends and fellow troops, killing them in cold-blood, is a new issue in itself. Many Americans expressed outrage over the Fort Hood Massacre and wish for Hasan to receive the dealth penalty which is a potential option if he is found guilty of murder.