10/14/26 - Monthly Essay: "By Firing Squad"

Firing Squad

Andrew Pulrang, Disability Thinking Weekday - October 14, 2026

(TW: death penalty, suicide)

Are they really going to livestream the execution of a man in a wheelchair by firing squad? How are other wheelchair users, and other disabled people, supposed to process that?

I’m not a fan of disability writers and activists trying to raise the profile of what they believe is a neglected disability issue by rhetorically but very pointedly asking why nobody else is talking about it. As in, “Why aren't any disability organizations talking about this?!"

(Another example: Disabled actor RJ Mitte died on Monday, apparently by suicide. But because I only read about it yesterday, and it takes time for me to write about things like this for the newsletter, I’m only mentioning it here briefly, partly because I can imagine at least somebody thinking, ‘Why are you writing about the firing squad thing when there’s RJ Mitte’s death to talk about?!’).

Criticisms like this are sometimes even valid. Some disability issues are ignored – because of internal disability community prejudices, policy differences, or maybe just fear or apathy. But prioritizing a hundred different disability issues and crises at any given moment is legitimately hard. And sometimes it turns out that actually, lots of people are already talking about the issue. We just happen to have missed it. Also, the “Why isn’t anyone talking about this?!” thing often seems more like whining from weakness rather than advocacy from strength and serious concern.

And yet …

I am a little surprised not to have seen much comment from disability communities, organizations, and activists about the U.S. federal government’s apparent plan to execute convicted murderer Nidal Hasan by firing squad, a man who uses a wheelchair, and live stream it live so anyone can watch. The most meaningful thing I have seen about it so far from a disability perspective is, of all things, this Saturday Night Live sketch. In it, executing a man in a wheelchair live on TV is specifically mentioned by Colin Jost, as Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, in a comedy bit that relies on the inherent outrageousness of the choice, and on the fact that the wheelchair part obviously makes it worse.

“In December, as we get into the Christmas spirit, we’re gonna execute a guy in a wheelchair on live TV!”

This isn’t about Hasan’s crime. Nor is it about how the man came to need a wheelchair, which was a direct result of his crime. It’s not about the death penalty either, or whether a firing squad is an acceptable method of carrying it out. It's not even about how Islamaphobia and Hegseth's macho, right-wing posturing are involved. I have opinions about all of those things. I imagine a lot of people do too, including a lot of disabled people and disability activists. They are all important issues. They are probably the most important issues in this case.

But the wheelchair part is also an issue. isn't it? It may not make it technically worse that Hasan is in a wheelchair. But there’s no way to imagine the execution being carried out where the man’s disability doesn’t make the whole thing feel more barbaric – or at the very least, doubly surreal.

At any rate, I have some questions:

• How exactly should disabled people and disability organizations address this? How much should we focus on the wheelchair specifically, and how much on the broader questions about the whole thing?
• Might there be staunch death penalty proponents — fans might also be a fair term — who will nevertheless draw the line at watching a man in a wheelchair be ritually shot by the U.S. government? Or, are there significant numbers of Americans who will actually kind of be into it?
• How will the whole idea affect wheelchair users who have no connection at all to anything remotely related to Nidal Hasan or his crime, except for also being wheelchair users?
• What kinds of ripple effects would this have on other wheelchair users and other disabled people? Will we be treated to a new bunch of ableist jokes and insensitive comments?
• Will any disability organizations speak out about this? If so, how? And how will their comments be processed in public debate and sentiment?

What do you think? What do you feel? Send your comments to me at: apulrang@icloud.com.

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. You can help promote Disability Thinking Weekday by forwarding it by email or posting on your social media. You can also comment by sending me an email at: apulrang@icloud.com. Collected comments are shared on the first of each month. A free subscription sends a newsletter to your email each weekday. Benefits of paid subscription include:

• A monthly recap with links to all of the previous month's shared articles, organized by topic.
• Listing as a supporter, and a link to your website if you have one.
• You can recommend one disability-related article for me to share per month in a weekday post.

Use the buttons below to start a paid subscription or make a one-time donation.

I am so grateful for your help and engagement, in whichever forms you choose!

Free subscribers: 1,291
Paid subscribers: 52