( CNN ) -- If Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Hasan follows through on representing himself at trial , he 'll get the rare opportunity to cross-examine victims on the stand . Hasan , an Army psychiatrist , faces a court-martial on murder charges in a November 2009 shooting rampage at the base near Killeen , Texas , that left 13 people dead and dozens more wounded . He has been cleared to represent himself in the case . Jury selection was supposed to begin Wednesday , but Hasan , 42 , has requested more time to prepare for trial . `` If Hasan is the lawyer , he will be cross-examining victims , people that he shot , which is a really appalling prospect , '' said Jeffrey Toobin , CNN senior legal analyst . One victim said he is `` very upset '' by the prospect of facing questioning by Hasan on the witness stand . Staff Sgt . Alonso Lonsford , who was shot seven times , including once in the head , said he found the strength to survive because he wanted to see justice served on a man who betrayed his uniform . Still , he is not relishing his day on the stand . `` The way I look at it , Maj. Hasan is an Army psychiatrist and so he 's very well trained on how to deal with service members that suffer ... traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder , '' Lonsford said . `` I know that he 's going to try to push certain triggers to get a physical reaction out of us to try to help him on his quest to become a martyr , so basically we have to outsmart and outwit him at the game he 's trying to play . '' Toobin concurred that Hasan was striving for martyrdom after the defendant told a judge he was defending Taliban leadership , specifically Mullah Mohammed Omar , during the massacre . `` He is trying to become a martyr , trying to be executed for this crime , '' Toobin said , adding that Hasan 's defense amounted to a `` form of suicide by judge . '' Many murder defendants have represented themselves at trial . Ted Bundy cross-examined witnesses . Long Island Railroad shooter Colin Ferguson cross-examined his own victims . After the testimony of Maryanne Phillips , the first person shot during the 1993 massacre , Ferguson asked if she had closed here eyes while playing dead after she was shot , according to a New York Times account from his 1995 trial . `` Yes , so you would n't come back and shoot me again , '' she said . `` But if your eyes were closed , how could you see the man you say was doing the shooting ? '' Ferguson asked , according to the paper . Ferguson was found guilty . He will serve life in prison as his earliest possible release date is 2309 .
Cleared to represent himself , Fort Hood shooting suspect could question victims during trial . Nidal Hasan faces an Army court-martial in 2009 massacre that left 13 dead , dozens hurt . `` Basically we have to outsmart and outwit him , '' sergeant says of taking stand in trial .