Nidal Hasan Execution: Fort Hood Victim’s Daughter Says ‘He’s Already Dead to Me’ as Firing Squad Will Be Livestreamed
Nearly 17 years after the Fort Hood massacre, the daughter of one of Nidal Hasan’s victims has made clear that she does not want his execution to become the focus of the story.
Keely Vanacker, whose father Michael Cahill was killed in the 2009 attack, said she is avoiding social media because she does not want to see Hasan’s face as his scheduled execution approaches. “He’s already dead to me,” Vanacker said, according to her comments on America Reports.
Her remarks come as the Pentagon announced Thursday that it is preparing to livestream Hasan’s execution by firing squad.
Nidal Hasan Execution Set for December
Hasan, a former U.S. Army psychiatrist, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas, at 1 p.m. CST on Dec. 3, 2026. President Donald Trump approved the death sentence on Oct. 2, and Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle subsequently set the execution date.
If carried out, it would be the first U.S. military execution in more than 65 years. The Army last executed a service member in 1961, while the last known U.S. military firing-squad execution took place in 1945.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be made public, while Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the livestream plan. Further details about how the public will view the execution have not yet been released.
‘He’s Already Dead to Me’
For Vanacker, however, the attention surrounding Hasan’s execution is not what she wants. Her father, Michael Cahill, was a physician assistant at Fort Hood and was among the 13 people killed when Hasan opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center on Nov. 5, 2009.
Vanacker has said she would rather people remember her father than focus on the man who killed him. “I want to think about my dad. I miss my dad. I think about him every single day,” she said.
In an interview reflecting on the execution announcement, Vanacker said the development did not feel like a milestone for her.
“For me, this is just giving a killer attention that he doesn’t deserve,” she said, according to KXXV. “For me, he was already dead.” She described her father as someone who valued people and treated everyone as though they mattered. That, she said, is what she wants people to remember.
Hasan was convicted in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to death by a military jury. He admitted during his court-martial that he was responsible for the shooting and said he had “switched sides.”
The Supreme Court denied his request for review in March 2025, clearing a major remaining legal hurdle. The Army then moved forward with the execution process after the president approved the death sentence. The planned execution is unusual not only because of the method but because of the location.
Hasan is set to be executed at Fort Hood – the same Texas military installation where he carried out the 2009 attack. The shooting killed 12 soldiers and civilian Cahill and wounded more than 30 others.
The Execution Could Still Face Legal Questions
Legal experts and Hasan’s former attorney have raised questions about the military’s execution procedures, including how Hasan was notified and how the firing squad will be organized. Hasan is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair, creating additional logistical questions about how the execution would be carried out.
The Army has not publicly released detailed protocols explaining where the firing squad will stand, who will participate or precisely how the procedure will be conducted.
