Fort worth, December 03: An Army psychiatrist who may face the death penalty after the mass shooting at Fort Hood was charged Wednesday with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder relating to the scores of soldiers and two civilian police officers injured in the attack, military officials said.
Maj. Nidal Hasan has already been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder after the Nov. 5 shooting in a building at the Texas Army post where soldiers must go before being deployed. Witnesses said he jumped on a desk and shouted “Allahu Akbar!” — Arabic for “God is great!” Army officials have said he was armed with two pistols, one a semiautomatic capable of firing up to 20 rounds without reloading.
The additional charges come less than 24 hours after Hasan’s civilian attorney was notified that the Army plans to evaluate Hasan to test his competency to stand trial as well as his mental state at the time of the shooting.
John Galligan, Hasan’s attorney, told The Associated Press that Army officials notified him late Wednesday that the “mental responsibility” exam would take place in the next 45 days. Galligan said the military rejected his objection to the evaluation, although he had pointed out that Hasan remains in intensive care at a San Antonio military hospital recovering from gunshot wounds that left him paralyzed.
“I’m incensed at the way the military is handling this, serving additional charges on my client when he’s in the hospital and defense attorneys are not present,” Galligan told a news agency by phone from his office near Fort Hood, about 150 miles southwest of Fort Worth. “And nobody will tell me what the plans are for the evaluation.”
Fort Hood officials did not immediately return a call late Wednesday about the mental exam.
The results of the mental evaluation could prevent Hasan from being sent to death row or even being tried at all, although those scenarios are unlikely, experts say.
The exam is done by a board of mental health professionals to determine whether the suspect had a severe mental illness at the time of the crime; if so, his or her clinical psychological diagnosis; whether that prevented him from knowing at the time that his alleged actions were wrong; and if he is competent to stand trial, according to military law.
The evaluation usually takes several days and involves psychological testing and interviews by the board, said Richard Stevens, an attorney who specializes in defending military cases but is not involved in Hasan’s case.
The board can review any evidence presented by prosecutors and defense attorneys, although the exam is closed to everyone except the doctors and Hasan, Stevens said.
“The government often requests a mental evaluation in cases where (insanity) may be the defense, because they want to know sooner rather than later what the doctors will determine about the defendant’s mental status so they feel comfortable proceeding,” he said.
–Agencies