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FORT HOOD, Texas – Day Two of the court-martial of Maj. Nidal Hasan, accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 shooting spree, began with a rift between Hasan and his standby counsel that resulted in court being adjourned for the day early Wednesday.
Hasan previously dismissed his defense team and has chosen to represent himself, but the court ordered a group of defense attorneys led by Lt. Col. Kris Poppe to act as "standby" counsel to help Hasan through the procedural steps of the trial.
In a motion filed late Tuesday, Poppe and his team said they feel Hasan is trying to purposely get the death penalty and asked the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, to not force them to be part of that effort. Poppe, addressing Osborn on Wednesday, said it became clear that Hasan is seeking the death penalty for himself after hearing the accused's opening statement and cross-examination of witnesses.
"Assisting him in achieving the goal of moving closer to the death penalty is something a defense trial attorney should not be forced to do," Poppe said.
Hasan objected to the defense team's assertions.
"That's a twist of the facts," he told the judge, later adding: "It's inaccurate and I'd like to clarify that."
Osborn paused for a few minutes as she weighed the new development, then cleared the courtroom to discuss the motion privately with Hasan and lawyers from both sides. Osborn said court will reconvene Thursday morning.
Hasan, a radicalized Army psychiatrist, faces several counts of murder and attempted murder, accused of commiting one of the deadliest gun attacks ever on a U.S. military base.
In his brief opening statement Tuesday, Hasan admitted to being the shooter and carrying out the attacks on behalf of the mujahideen, or holy warriors. An American-born Muslim, Hasan, 42, was scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan a few weeks after the shooting.
Witnesses on Tuesday described the harrowing scene inside Building 42003 of the base's Soldier Readiness Center complex, when Hasan bellowed "Allahu akbar!" – "God is great" – and fired on unarmed soldiers using an FN 5.7 semiautomatic handgun.
Emptying and reloading high-capacity magazines, Hasan fired more than 200 rounds inside and outside the building, prosecutors said.
"He came to believe he had a jihad duty to kill as many soldiers as possible," said Col. Steve Henricks, the lead prosecutor.
If convicted, Hasan faces the death penalty and could be the first person in five decades that the military puts to death.
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