Helen McEntee, Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, has responded after US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced plans to livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of murder and attempted murder after he opened fire at a US military base in Texas in 2009.

McEntee told Irish publication The Journal on Friday that the execution is “completely contrary” to what Ireland believes in. 

“We do not support the death penalty,” she said, adding that this particular execution is intended to be “quite shocking."

“And I think people feel that we only call this out for countries that we don’t have the same level of engagement with, or perhaps the same relationship with, but as far as I’m concerned, this should not be going ahead.

“I’m not sure my words will change that, but we need to highlight this when we engage with our US colleagues that we don’t support the death penalty."

She added: “This is quite a shocking approach that’s been taken in this instance."

Nidal Hasan's crimes and planned execution

Described as "the worst terrorist attack on US soil since September 11th, 2001," Nidal Hasan, a former major in the US Army, opened fire on unarmed forces at Fort Hood in Texas on November 5, 2009. He later described his attack as retaliation for the US military’s violence against Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hasan was convicted on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, and the court-martial jury set his punishment at death.

On Monday, Sean Parnell, the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor, wrote on social media that US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had recommended that Hasan be executed by a US Army firing squad, a recommendation that was approved by US President Donald Trump.

"Judgement day for Hasan has finally come," Parnell wrote.

His execution is due to take place at Fort Hood, Texas, at 1 pm CST on December 3.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009. He killed 13 people and wounded…

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 5, 2026

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the last military execution in the US was on April 13, 1961, when US Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.

Hasan’s execution would be the first conducted by a military firing squad since January 31, 1945, when Eddie Slovik was executed for desertion.

The Center noted that Hasan is constitutionally entitled to pursue appellate review of his death sentence in civilian federal courts, which would indefinitely delay the execution.

Public execution

On Thursday, Hegseth told podcaster Jack Posobiec that it is a "no-brainer" for Hasan to be executed by firing squad.

"Army major betrays his country, radical Islamist kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood, of course we're going to do it [the execution] at Fort Hood. Going to do it on a Thursday, going to do it at 1 o'clock, which is when he did it. And it's going to be soldiers, with rifles, executing the firing squad.

"It hadn't been since World War II since that we've done that. Well, I kind of like the mentality we had in World War II, which was when the enemy attacks you, you stand your ground."

He went on to add: "We know what it is; it was a radical Islamist attack in uniform inside the ranks, and so he's going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be.

"And we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public, because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."

When asked if Hasan has made any final requests or reached out to President Trump, Hegseth shrugged and replied: "Don't care. We'll see him on December 3."

Later, on social media, Hegseth quoted a post from CBS News about the livestream of the execution, saying "Correct."

According to CBS News, the last public execution in the US appeared to take place in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged for rape in Kentucky, reportedly drawing a crowd of around 20,000.

Correct. https://t.co/0SXJiqrDnR

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 8, 2026

Capital punishment in Ireland

On April 20, 1954, 25-year-old Michael Manning, from Limerick, became the 29th and final person to be legally executed in Ireland after he was found guilty of the rape and murder of 65-year-old Catherine Cooper.

Ten years later, the death penalty was abolished in Ireland for all cases apart from the murder of police, diplomats, and prison officers. It was abolished by statute for the remaining offenses in 1990, and was expunged from the Constitution of Ireland by referendum in 2001.

Ireland was the last country in Europe to constitutionally forbid the use of capital punishment.

While the European Union has abolished execution, it still takes place elsewhere in the world. Amnesty International reported that in 2025, China (1000s), Iran (2,159+), Saudi Arabia (356+), Yemen (51+), and the US (47) were the countries with the highest numbers of executions.

Related: Irish American, Irish Politics, US Politics