Court Prevents Forcible Shaving of Alleged Ft. Hood Shooter

Court proceedings against accused Ft. Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan were halted by an order issued Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. 

The order came as Col. Gregory Gross, the judge presiding over Hasan’s court-martial, announced that Hasan would be forcibly shaved if he did not comply with Army regulations and shave his beard himself.

Hasan, who is still in the Army, stands accused of killing 13 soldiers and wounding 32 others in Nov. 2009.

The order by the Court of Appeals seems to ignore the fact that Hasan first appeared in the courtroom with his beard in June. Gross halted the trial at that time, fined Hasan $1,000, and told him to shave his beard per Army regulations.

Now, with Gross’s directives overridden, Hasan’s trial is starting to look a lot like the trial of KSM and his four co-defendants in Guantanamo Bay. If you’ll recall, that trial was halted so that KSM could celebrate Ramadan.