Ft.
Hood – You knew there was a verdict when Judge (Col.) Tara Osborn
called the jury back into the courtroom for the second time in less
than a half hour – at 12:32 CST.
She
told members of the gallery, “We have had no outbursts from the
gallery throughout the trial, and the Court thanks you.” She then
admonished them, as she has every day for the past three weeks, to
behave in a “calm, quiet and dignified manner.”
And
then she had the bailiff hand her the 23-page worksheet that
contained the jury's findings on all 13 specifications of
premeditated murder and 32 specifications of premeditated attempted
murder, poring over each page to make sure it was in due form.
The
most senior member of the jury, a black woman named Col. Keller,
read
aloud, “Nidal Malik Hasan, the panel has reached by a unanimous
vote a verdict of guilty of all specifications on the original
(murder) specifications and on the additional (attempted murder)
specifications, guilty.”
The
unanimous finding of guilt on the capital murder charges clears the
way for a sentence of death by lethal injection. Hasan will be
entitled to an automatic appeal to the appeals courts.
Representatives
of the national media, about 75 in number, scampered for their phones
and cameras and satellite trucks on a dead run.
There
was a brief visit to the courtroom a half hour earlier to correct the
spelling of the name of the President of the Court Martial and to
correct a typographical error on one of the additional
specifications. Following those administrative details, there was
much speculation among seasoned reporters that a verdict would be
coming shortly.
When
they heard the judge's admonishment against any outbursts or displays
of emotion, you could have heard a pin drop.
Sentencing
phase of the trial will proceed at 9 a.m. on Monday, August 26.
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