Major Nidal Hassan has been granted his dearest wish–he was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murders he committed on an Army base. From day one of his trial, Hassan literally begged to be executed for shifting in life from an officer in the United States Armed forces to a committed Muslim fundamentalist who wanted to kill and kill Americans who he believed were enemies of Islam. From day one, this man wanted to become a martyr whose only desire in life was to die with the belief that his actions were in accord with that of the Prophet Mohammad. There is something ironic in giving a murderer what he desires in life.
Two hundred years ago, an officer in the US Navy was given a sentence because he was considered to be a traitor. The sentence was a life in which no one could use the expression, “the United States of America.” In essence, he was sentenced to a lifetime of silence. It would have been devastating for Hassan to spend the rest of his life in silence. No martyr, just a silent paralyzed man alone in a cell.