December 13, 2009

Group: Charge Fort Hood Suspect With 14th Murder

Selena Hernandez

FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News/AP) - Thirty state representatives, including several from North Texas, are calling for the U.S. Army to charge Fort Hood shooting suspect Major Nadal Malik Hasan with taking the life of an unborn child.

The Texas Conservative Coalition cites the 2004 Unborn Victims of Violence Act and the Texas senate bill which allow a person to be prosecuted for the death of a pregnant woman's fetus.

"What we have to do is re-double our efforts we have to support our military and we all have to pray for our military throughout the world," Republican State Representative Mark Shelton said of the November 5 shootings.

Rep. Shelton is among 30 other state lawmakers pushing for an additional charge against Hasan.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, faces 13 premeditated murder charges for the people killed last month along with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder charges.

Among the Fort Hood victims was Private Francheska Velez. It's believed Velez was pregnant at the time of the shootings. State Legislators are now appealing John McHugh, Secretary of the Army, to include Velez's unborn child as a causality.

"This was a cumulative thought on our part. We believe two lives were snuffed out, two futures were lost, and this terrorist act took 14 lives in Fort Hood" says Rep. Shelton.

The legislators cite a specific section under Article 119 in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which outlines culpability to anyone harming an unborn child.

In the letter, the lawmakers write, "...such action would underscore the fundamental point that unborn children must be afforded the same legal protections against offenses that can be committed against individuals, such as homicide."

"Hasan murdered 14 people at Fort Hood and we think he should be accountable to all 14," Shelton said.

Meanwhile, a senior military official in Washington says the lead prosecutor in the Fort Hood shooting case will be a man who secured the death penalty in a similar case four years ago.

The official told The Associated Press on Friday that Col. Michael Mulligan will head the prosecution of Maj. Hasan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Mulligan prosecuted a 2005 case in which Sgt. Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death for a 2003 attack on comrades in Kuwait that left two dead and 14 wounded.

Authorities haven't said if they'll seek the death penalty in the Fort Hood case.

Click here to view the original article on the CBS online website. 

Click here to view the video about this story on the CBS online website.

Click here to view the original letter sent by 33 members of the Texas Conservative Coalition.