HOUSTON, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. judge ruled Wednesday that a military psychiatrist accused of killing 13 in a 2009 shooting spree at the U.S. Fort Hood Army base can still face the death penalty.
Judge Tara Osborn on Wednesday denied Maj. Nidal Hasan's request to remove the death penalty as a punishment option, according to The Houston Chronicle.
Defense attorneys argued that Hasan should be spared a possible death penalty because the process of the military justice system for deciding capital cases is inconsistent.
Osborn was expected to rule later on Hasan's request to plead guilty to 13 counts of premeditated murder in the 2009 attack on the Ford Hood army base.
Hasan, 42, allegedly opened fire with two handguns on unarmed soldiers who were preparing for deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan at a crowded medical building at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2009.
The shooting rampage left 13 people dead and more than 30 others injured.
Hasan, who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police the day of the rampage, has been in custody since the shooting.
He has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
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