JD Vance casts doubt on firing squad execution and says he will not watch it

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Talking with reporters, Vance expressed doubt that it would happen as planned, saying: "I don't know that that's actually going to happen".

He added, that "if it's through live stream, I'm not going to be watching it". Vance described the actions by former US Army major Nidal Hasan as "the worst terrorist attack on American soil outside of 9/11".

Hasan fatally shot 13 unarmed US soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, injuring another 32. His execution by firing squad would be the first military execution in more than 60 years.

The Pentagon announced earlier this week it would execute Hasan by firing squad, the first of its kind since the end of World War Two. A Pentagon spokesperson said on Monday that US President Donald Trump had approved defence secretary Pete Hegseth's recommendation.

The BBC has asked the White House whether Trump supported the plans to livestream the execution.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Vance said: "I see these announcements. I don't know that that's actually going to happen."

The vice-president said that Hasan was meant to treat soldiers for mental illness and other problems and "took them at their most vulnerable and gunned down these people where they lived".

The announcement that the Pentagon would live stream the execution was met with pushback from both political parties.