Pope Leo declares death penalty 'inadmissible' as the US plans to livestream a firing squad execution
From the Newshound archive · first published 10 October 2026.
Nidal Hasan (left), who killed 12 service members and one civilian at Fort Hood in 2009, has been given a December 3 execution date at the same base — ending a 65-year hiatus in military capital punishment.
Pope Leo XIV on Saturday described capital punishment as an affront to human dignity, posting on X under the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty within hours of the Pentagon announcing it would broadcast live the firing squad execution of Fort Hood gunman Nidal Malik Hasan. The American-born Pope stopped short of naming Hasan directly, but his most senior deputy, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, explicitly called the planned public execution 'unacceptable'.
Hasan was convicted of fatally shooting 13 people and injuring 32 others during a 2009 rampage at Fort Hood military base.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, who leads the US bishops conference, expressed 'shock' and branded the Pentagon's decision 'a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.'
Leo's condemnation fell on World Day Against the Death Penalty and echoed his predecessor Pope Francis, who also declared capital punishment 'inadmissible.'
