Accused Ft. Hood Shooter Moved to Jail

(AP)  After four months in a military hospital, the Army psychiatrist charged in the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military base will soon be moved to a county jail near Fort Hood.

Defense attorney John Galligan said Monday that Maj. Nidal Hasan could be moved as early as next week.

Bell County Jail administrator Bob Patterson says Hasan will be housed in a cell in the medical unit. Patterson says the facility that opened a year ago to replace the county's aging jail is prepared to handle inmates with medical needs.

Hasan, 39, was taken to a San Antonio military hospital shortly after the Nov. 5 shootings. He was paralyzed below the chest when he was shot by two civilian members of Fort Hood's police force.

Special Section: Tragedy at Fort Hood

According to two officials familiar with the case, as many as eight Army officers could face discipline for failing to do anything when Hasan displayed erratic behavior early in his military career. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because that information has not been publicly released.

Retired Adm. Vernon E. Clark and former Army secretary Togo D. West Jr., who led the investigation, told reporters that there were discrepancies between Hasan's performance and his personnel records.

Their investigation also found that his top-level security clearance hadn't been properly investigated. Had policies been properly followed, investigators say his clearance may have been revoked "and his continued service and pending deployment would have been subject to increased scrutiny."

Officials say that several midlevel officers overlooked or failed to act on red flags in Hasan's lax work habits and his fixation on religion. Hasan was seen by the reviews as a loner who was passed along from office to office and job to job despite professional failings that included missed or failed exams and physical fitness requirements.

Findings about Hasan and those who supervised him are contained in a confidential addendum to a larger report about the Pentagon's handling of potential extremism in the ranks and readiness to handle the sort of mass casualties Hasan allegedly inflicted.

The officers supervised Hasan when he was a medical student and during his early work as an Army psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

The report, called "Protecting the Force," concludes that the Defense Department had outdated and ineffective means to identify threats from inside as opposed to outside the military. It also says the department's means of sharing and collating information about a potential troublemaker are inadequate, one official said.

[run2jazz2]

I can only imagine they got this guy under confinement from the general population. If not, he will not last 5 minutes!

[curse914]

by from_the_north March 1, 2010 2:08 PM EST
Can anybody imagine the publicity the Army would have had if one of his supervisors has critizied his religious nutcase fixation. His superiors had to be "politically correct" to this muslim wierdo - or they themselves would have been potentially in trouble.

===============

No doubt, the same would hold true if your theoretical "hamstrung" superiors were concerned about a dangerous Christian fanatic in their ranks.

The "liberal politically correct" Strawman, no doubt, was not present when his Army superior cited him for unprofessional behavior, inappropriately discussing religion, underperforming in his residency program and being too fat. The "liberal politically correct" Strawman resulted in the deaths of those soldiers, right, genius?

[askagain]

Really? People don't mind bashing Christianity. For some reason, we accept bashing the Christian religion while it is not politically correct to bash the Muslim religion. Yet, we are at war with radical or extremist Muslims. His military superiors were probably afraid to be critical of Hasan's religious beliefs but would not think twice if his beliefs were Christian.

[kyleminli]

He had better be working when he's awake in that permanent medical ward of the prison. He may be paralyzed from below the chest down, but he can still stuff envelopes and do other menial labor requiring his hands. Then, once all his appeals are exhausted--I'm assuming there will be appeals--he can be permanently retired. Anyone else have any ideas how to put this guy to work while he awaits Judgment Day? He should be allowed to just sit and read.

[kyleminli]

Woops, I meant to say he "shouldn't be allowed to just sit and read."

[Funky-President]

why is he not in the brig for military trial? Why was he not in a civilian hospital? Why is the military giving up custody to the local authorities?

[Stevenapoli7]

The Navy promotes lots of underachievers based on their specialness (gender, skin color), at least at the officer level.

[goirish1974]

I come from a family with a military background in both the Army and the Navy. Some of them have served or are still serving in the Navy. I have never heard this.

[Empire-George-]

When they hit the switch on this guy, then let us know, until then we really don't want to see his murderous mug and certainly don't need to be informed that the "accused shooter moved to jail".....him moving to the firing line, that's news !

[from_the_north]

Can anybody imagine the publicity the Army would have had if one of his supervisors has critizied his religious nutcase fixation. His superiors had to be "politically correct" to this muslim wierdo - or they themselves would have been potentially in trouble.

[TVO1CITW]

One more thing, can you get an updated picture or no picture? I am tired of this guy getting so much publicity. No wonder people think that killing other people will promote their publicity!

[countrycuz1]

He'll probably sue the government for excessive force and racial profiling- and win!

[goirish1974]

Let him. I don't think he will win one red cent. He's a disgrace to America and the military.

[TVO1CITW]

Bla Bla Bla on the investigation. Everyone had to be politically correct up til he killed people. Point the fingers in the right direction.

The jail is new. Well, that should be a cozy place to stay until his trial.