FILE – This undated photo provided by the Bell County Sheriff’s Department shows Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Hasan has been hospitalized for undisclosed reasons, military officials said Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. A Fort Hood news release says he is in good condition after being admitted to the Texas Army post’s hospital Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012. Hasan was shot during the 2009 rampage and is paralyzed from the waist down. Credit: AP
Billy Hallowell, TheBlaze — The military judge who ordered the Fort Hood shooting suspect’s beard to be forcibly shaved has been thrown off the case, but the ruling ends lengthy delays in the trial of the Army officer charged with the 2009 rampage that killed 13 people.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled Monday that Col. Gregory Gross did not appear impartial while presiding over the case of Maj. Nidal Hasan. Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted in the 2009 shootings on the Texas Army post that killed 13 people and wounded more than two dozen others.
The court said it was not ruling on whether the judge’s order violated Hasan’s religious rights. Hasan has argued that his beard is a requirement of his Muslim faith, although facial hair violates Army regulations.
“Should the next military judge find it necessary to address (Hasan’s) beard, such issues should be addressed and litigated anew,” judges wrote in the ruling.
Fort Hood officials said late Monday that proceedings in the case will resume after a new judge is appointed by the Army’s highest legal branch. That indicates Army prosecutors will not appeal Monday’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hasan appealed after Gross ordered that he must be clean-shaven or be forcibly shaved before his military trial, which had been set to begin three months ago. It has been on hold pending the appeals.
An Army appeals court upheld the shaving requirement in October. But Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces said the command, not the judge, is responsible for enforcing grooming standards. » Read More
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About the Author
Billy Hallowell has been working in journalism and media for more than a decade. His writings have appeared in Human Events, Mediaite and on FOXNews.com, among other outlets. Hallowell has a B.A. in journalism and broadcasting from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York and an M.S. in social research from Hunter College in Manhattan, New York. He is the founder of Pathufind Media and lives just outside NYC with his wife. You can find him on Twitter @BillyHallowell.
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Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan is successfully waging Jihad from his prison cell. His latest victim is the judge, who was removed from the case after ruling that Hasan should be forcibly shaved.