Breitbart news:
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) - The Army psychiatrist suspected in a deadly rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, has been charged in a military court with 13 counts of premeditated murder.
U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey told a news conference Thursday at the Texas base that additional charges may also be filed against Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.
Hasan is suspected of killing 12 soldiers and one civilian in last Thursday's shooting spree at Fort Hood. He was shot and wounded by two police officers at the base, and remains in recovery at an Army hospital in San Antonio. His attorney says he was read the charges at the hospital.
The code of military law is called the Uniform Code of Military Justice, UCMJ. The articles of the UCMJ that define crimes are called the "punitive articles." Each punitive article defines a crime and in so defining lays out what must be proved by the trial counsel (prosecutor) in the court martial. Murder is Article 118 of the UCMJ:
§ 918. Art. 118. Murder
Any person subject to this chapter who, without justification or excuse, unlawfully kills a human being, when he— (1) has a premeditated design to kill; (2) intends to kill or inflict great bodily harm; (3) is engaged in an act which is inherently dangerous to another and evinces a wanton disregard of human life; or (4) is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of burglary, sodomy, rape, robbery, or aggravated arson;
is guilty of murder, and shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct, except that if found guilty under clause (1) or (4), he shall suffer death or imprisonment for life as a court-martial may direct.
In order for Hasan to be sentenced to death if he convicted, the court-martial must be convened as a General Court Martial (GCM) empowered specifically to render that sentence. Only a General Court Martial can render the death sentence. A General Court Martial is so called because only a general officer in command can convene it. There are courts that may be convened by commanders of lower rank than general, but the level of punishments they may sentence are considerably less.
[Army] officials said it is not yet decided whether to charge Hasan with a 14th count of murder related to the death of the unborn child of a pregnant shooting victim.
My guess is that Hasan will be charged with this crime, Article 119a:
§ 919a. Art. 119a. Death or injury of an unborn child
(1) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in conduct that violates any of the provisions of law listed in subsection (b) and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of title 18) to, a child, who is in utero at the time the conduct takes place, is guilty of a separate offense under this section and shall, upon conviction, be punished by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct, which shall be consistent with the punishments prescribed by the President for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child’s mother.
(2) An offense under this section does not require proof that—
(i) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant; or (ii) the accused intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child.
They can also charge Hasan with 29 violations of Article 124, Maiming, one for each person Hasan is suspected of shooting, although this article is not punishable by death.
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