Nidal Hasan argues against lesser charges in Fort Hood spree

U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Hasan said he agreed with prosecutors' arguments against including lesser charges in his court-martial of the Fort Hood, Texas, massacre. Hasan told the military judge Wednesday there was "adequate provocation" for the attack in which 13 people died and 32 others were wounded because the soldiers were leaving to participate in an "illegal war" in Afghanistan, CNN reported. The military judge is considering whether to include a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter or unpremeditated murder in her instructions to the jury. The instructions are expected to be delivered to the jury Thursday before closing arguments begin, CNN said. A jury of 13 officers will determine whether Hasan is guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of premeditated attempted murder in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack. Hasan told the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, he agreed with prosecutors' arguments against inclusion of lesser charges, saying the attack wasn't carried out in "the heat of sudden passion." Osborn told the prosecutors and Hasan she would weigh their arguments as she considered the instructions. Hasan's decision not to put on a defense ended the testimony portion of the court-martial. Prosecution witnesses, primarily survivors, offered a horrendous portrayal of what happened inside the Fort Hood processing center during the attack. Hasan, who represented himself but had stand-by attorneys, took responsibility for the rampage at the outset of the trial, telling the jury in his opening statement the evidence will show "I was the shooter." Osborn barred Hasan from pleading guilty at the start of the court-martial. Under military law, defendants cannot plead guilty in capital punishment cases, CNN said. Prosecutors entered more than 700 pieces of evidence into the case, The Killeen Daily Herald reported. In contrast, Hasan entered one document into evidence -- a page from a Nov. 2, 2009, officer evaluation report that praised the major.