Suspect Is Arraigned in Fort Hood Massacre

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Source: The New York Times

FORT HOOD, Tex. — Wearing a camouflage Army uniform and sitting upright in a wheelchair, the military psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage here appeared in court on Wednesday at his arraignment, without the civilian lawyer who had been his lead defense attorney.

The Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, informed the judge shortly before the arraignment on Wednesday that he had released the lawyer and would be represented by military lawyers from the United States Army Trial Defense Service who had already been working on his case. At the arraignment, the judge, Col. Gregory Gross, asked Major Hasan if his decision to remove the civilian lawyer was a voluntary act.

“Yes, it is,” Major Hasan responded quietly.

Major Hasan’s arraignment came one year and eight months after the November 2009 attack, one of the deadliest mass shootings to ever unfold at an American military base. Major Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/us/21hood.html