Fort Hood Suspect May Be 'Forcibly Shaved' Before Trial
Maj. Nidal Hasan is charged with shooting and killing 13 people at an Army installation in 2009
Larry Shaughnessy CNN Pentagon Producer
July 26, 2012
(CNN) -- The military judge who will oversee the trial of the man accused in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre ruled Wednesday that if Maj. Nidal Hasan doesn't shave by the start of jury selection, he will be forcibly shaved.Col. Gregory Gross has been telling Hasan he must shave, in accordance with Army regulations. Hasan, who is a Muslim, has refused to shave for more than a month, apparently in keeping with Quranic teachings.
During a pretrial hearing Wednesday, Gross ruled Hasan in contempt of court and fined him $1,000. Gross told Hasan that he unless the defendant shaves before the start of his trial, he will be "forcibly shaved," according to Christopher Haug and Tyler Broadway, spokesmen at Fort Hood.
Even though Hasan has been in custody since November 2009 when 13 people were shot and killed at the U.S. Army installation outside Killeen, Texas, he is still in the Army and still draws his pay.
The remainder of Wednesday's hearing focused on discovery issues regarding potential evidence in the case.
Gross said he would examine an unredacted copy of the recently released report to the FBI director, which casts a critical eye on what signals were missed by the FBI -- or simply not communicated -- that might have prompted a closer look at Hasan.
If Gross determines that the unredacted report contains information that might help Hasan's defense attorneys, he'll turn that over to them.
Gross also requested an update on whether the Senate maintained any notes or interview records from the homeland security committee's report on the shooting.
Hasan was left paralyzed from the waist down in the shooting, when police officers exchanged fire with him. He faces a possible death penalty if convicted in the shooting.