Now that the man who murdered their loved ones has been sentenced to death, the families of the soldiers killed in a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, three years ago are asking the public to forget Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and focus instead on the heroes who emerged that day, reports Stars & Stripes. “Anyone who would use their religion to commit acts of terrorism serves no god except their own hatred and self-interest,” said Gale Hunt, mother of victim Jason “J.D.” Hunt. “Nidal Hasan is a coward and an unrepentant murderer.”
Hassan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder for the Nov. 5, 2009, attack against unarmed soldiers waiting for medical clearance at a processing center. A panel of 13 military officers deliberated for two and a half hours before passing sentence Wednesday. The sentence must be reviewed and approved in several more steps–a commanding officer, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Military Appeals, and the president. The last time the military put a service member to death was April 13, 1961.