Hegseth wants a livestream execution. Here's how firing squads work

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to livestream the December execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by using a firing squad, one of the rarest forms of capital punishment in the United States.

Why it matters: The planned livestream would mark the first public U.S. execution in roughly 90 years, but it has already drawn scrutiny , with President Trump expressing doubt it'll happen.

Catch up quick: Hegseth said Oct.

8 that Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting , will be executed in December, and the execution will be livestreamed.

Trump has expressed apparent uneasiness despite giving his initial endorsement , Axios' Marc Caputo reported.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) expressed some concerns, too, while Vice President Vance said he wouldn't watch if it were aired.

Zoom out: Execution by firing squad is rare, with only six since capital punishment resumed in 1977, per the Death Penalty Information Center. .

The U.S. military last executed someone by firing squad in 1945, when it executed Pvt.

Eddie Slovik for desertion in France, per NPR .

The military's last execution was in 1961, when it hanged John A.

Bennett .

How a firing squad works State of play: The Pentagon hasn't disclosed its firing squad procedures for Hasan's execution and didn't respond to Axios' request for comment Tuesday.

Past executions offer a glimpse of what the method typically involves.

How it works: The procedure typically begins with a prisoner strapped to a chair placed before a wall and surrounded by sandbags to absorb blood.