Heartbreaking testimony in sentencing phase for Hasan
by MARK WIGGINS / KVUE News and photojournalist SCOTT MCKENNEY
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kvue.com
Posted on August 26, 2013 at 6:13 PM
Updated today at 6:20 PM
AUSTIN -- The slow walk to the military courtroom Monday morning marked the first steps in a slow and painful journey through the heartbreak that began with that November afternoon in 2009.
After convicting Army Maj. Nidal Hasan of 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in the brutal rampage on Fort Hood, a military panel will now determine his fate. On the first day of the court martial sentencing phase, a dozen witnesses took the stand.
"They were comprised of widows, parents and fellow soldiers who gave witness to the losses they and their families have suffered as a result of the shooting," Fort Hood and III Corps public affairs chief Chris Haug told media Monday.
Among those testifying was Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler, who suffered four gunshot wounds, including one in the head. Walking up to the witness box with great difficulty, Zeigler described how surgeons removed 20 percent of his brain, leaving him with the cognitive faculties of a high school student.
Angela Rivera, the widow of 52-year old psychiatrist and Army Maj. Eduardo Caraveo, choked back sobs as she described her horror when news of the shooting broke. After her husband's death she said one of her daughters became suicidal.
http://www.kvue.com/news/Heartbreak...-of-sentencing-phase-for-Hasan-221232141.html