The Army plans to pay nearly $207,000 to keep the suspected gunman in the deadly Fort Hood shootings at a central Texas jail until at least September, the San Antonio Express News reported Friday.
The contract with Bell County, released under the Texas Public Information Act, outlines plans to house psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan. The county jail, which opened in 2009 and has a medical unit, is 15 miles from Fort Hood.
Hasan faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 shooting at the post. He was shot by civilian police, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down and in a military hospital in San Antonio.
The Army has declined to say when Hasan will be transferred from Brooke Army Medical Center. His Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding, is scheduled for June 1.
Defense lawyer John Galligan of Belton says he plans to seek a postponement because he has not received all the necessary information to prepare for the hearing.
Galligan also says Hasan should be cared for in a hospital, not a jail.
The contract says it will cost $24,394 to house Hasan, a special-needs prisoner, for 183 days. It also has a cost estimated at $152,402 for around-the-clock guarding of Hasan, who is considered a "high-value" inmate. An additional $30,000 is estimated for supplies and services to help meet his medical and transport needs.
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The contract, especially the around-the-clock guard, is a waste of money for the Army, Galligan said, noting his client is confined to a wheelchair or bed.
"Where the money should have been spent is on appropriate medical care -- a nurse," he said. Hasan fell out of his chair earlier this week, Galligan said.
Bell County has housed military suspects for about 15 years through a contract with Fort Hood, which lacks holding facilities.
