Ft. Hood shooting suspect faces Army trial

FORT WORTH, Texas -- More than two dozen soldiers have testified about the day they were shot in a crowded Fort Hood building in November 2009. Some told of looking the gunman in the eye as he fired. A Senate investigation has announced its findings about the suspect: before the rampage, the Army psychiatrist had become an Islamic extremist and a "ticking time bomb."

Now the defense team for Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, faces what seems like an impossible task of preventing a conviction and potential death sentence in one of the highest profile cases in military history.

Hasan, 40, who remains jailed and was paralyzed after police shot him that day, could go to trial later this year at Fort Hood, the Texas Army post about 125 miles south of Fort Worth. On Wednesday, Fort Hood's commander ordered Hasan to stand trial after reviewing documents from last fall's evidentiary hearing.

For the defense lawyers, "there are huge challenges in this case -- challenges that may not be present in other capital cases," said Richard Stevens, a military defense attorney who is not involved in the case.

John Galligan, the lead defense attorney, has said little about the strategies he is considering. But experts in military law say his choices are limited: hope Hasan's mental state will prompt a jury to opt for a life sentence, or watch for legal errors or complications that could cause a conviction or death sentence to be overturned.

Galligan is clearly mindful of the reversible-error prospect, and can be expected to challenge every legal decision in the trial that could be used for an appeal. Galligan said 80 percent of the military's death sentences have been commuted to life in prison without parole since the military reinstated the death penalty in 1984.