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Court Martial To Begin Tuesday In Fort Hood Shooting Rampage

Maj. Nidal Hasan faces 13 charges of murder and 32 of attempted murder for the November 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.
Reuters/Landov
Maj. Nidal Hasan faces 13 charges of murder and 32 of attempted murder for the November 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.

Court-Martial To Begin Tuesday In Fort Hood Shooting Rampage

Former Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan is charged with opening fire in a troop processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, and killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others in 2009.

Hasan is representing himself in the death penalty case.

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NPR's Wade Goodwyn tells Morning Edition co-host Renee Montagne that means Hasan will be questioning witnesses he is accused of shooting.

Hassan is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by a military police officer during the rampage.

On All Things Considered last night, NPR's Daniel Zwerdling told co-host Melissa Block that Hasan will be brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair.

Hasan is a Muslim and has maintained he was justified in his actions because he was protecting the Taliban from U.S. aggression.

He has tried to plead guilty. The military tribunal, however, would not allow him because under military statute, if you can potentially be executed for a crime, you can't plead guilty.

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The trial is expected to last months.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit www.npr.org.