Accused Ft. Hood Shooter May Get To Wear Beard At Trial

The Austin (TX) Statesman yesterday reported that now that a new military judge has been appointed to preside over the trial of accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan (see prior posting),  Hasan may be allowed to wear his beard that he has grown for religious reasons.  In an exchange at a hearing yesterday, while not finally ruling on the issue, newly-appointed military judge Col. Tara Osborn told Hasan: "I’m not going to hold (the beard) against you, but people on the (jury) panel may. Do you understand?" Col. Osborn also asked defense attorneys to draw up possible jury instructions to be used if Hasan wears a beard during his trial.