A U.S. military judge has ruled that army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan will not be able to argue that he was defending the Afghan Taliban when he allegedly killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.
Judge Colonel Tara Osborn said on June 14 that Hasan failed to present evidence showing that his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood were an immediate threat to anyone.
Hasan had been seeking to use a "defense of others" strategy in his upcoming trial, in which he is expected to act as his own attorney.
That strategy argues that a killing was necessary to prevent the immediate harm or death of others.
Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim, faces the death penalty or life without parole if convicted over the 2009 rampage.
Judge Colonel Tara Osborn said on June 14 that Hasan failed to present evidence showing that his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood were an immediate threat to anyone.
Hasan had been seeking to use a "defense of others" strategy in his upcoming trial, in which he is expected to act as his own attorney.
That strategy argues that a killing was necessary to prevent the immediate harm or death of others.
Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim, faces the death penalty or life without parole if convicted over the 2009 rampage.