Nidal Hasan killed 13 and wounded 32 others during the Nov. 5, 2009, terror attack at Fort Hood, Texas, but he may escape the death penalty.
John P. Galligan, a defense attorney who represented the former Army Major in civil court, says the convicted murderer is not likely to pay with his life for the mass shooting.
"Is the death penalty in this case going to be sustained on appeal? I say, probably not," Galligan told the Killeen Daily Herald on Thursday.
Hasan was found guilty on on 13 charges of premeditated murder and 32 of attempted murder Aug. 23, 2013. His execution would be the first for an active-duty soldier in more than 50 years.
Galligan said the case will immediately be appealed once the U.S. Army authenticates and approves the transcripts from Hasan's trial.
"Several steps of the post-trial process must occur prior to action by the general court-martial convening authority," Fort Hood officials told the newspaper. "These steps include authentication of the record by the military judge, review by the staff judge advocate, and potential submission of clemency matters by the accused. The current General Court-Martial Convening Authority is Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland. The completed record has not been forwarded to the convening authority and may be presented to him or any successor in command without restarting the post-trial process."
Galligan will eventually make the case that Hasan was denied the opportunity to effectively testify before the court. The Army also refused to pay a physiologist to evaluate bullet wounds he sustained during the rampage.
"He was effectively foreclosed of any meaningful opportunity to testify. The judge told him pretrial he wasn't going to allow him to argue or present evidence on this business about defense of thirds," the attorney said.
Hasan planned to say his actions saved the lives of Iraq children jeopardized by the U.S. military.
"If a jury had been at least presented with those things, I think there would have at least been a possibility," that Hasan would have only received a life sentence instead of the death penalty, Galligan told the newspaper. "I joke with people who ask me if Hasan got a fair trial at Fort Hood. He couldn’t even get a bank account at Fort Hood, much less a fair trial."