WASHINGTON – At 9:02 A.M. on April 19, 1995, in the largest terrorist act ever perpetrated on American soil, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed by the explosion of a homemade truck bomb. One hundred and sixty-eight people — including nineteen children — were killed by the blast, and more than five hundred others were injured.
Timothy J. McVeigh, an antigovernment activist, was tried and convicted of the bombing. But to Americans everywhere, the story has remained a mystery, held hostage by McVeigh’s refusal to explain or even discuss the event and his involvement.
Now, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh’s execution has been delayed one month to June 11 because the FBI mistakenly withheld thousands of documents from his lawyers.
Attorney Robert Nigh, speaking outside the federal prison in Terre Haute where his client is on death row, said McVeigh might want to fight his conviction because of the newly released evidence.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the delay Friday, saying that despite his belief in McVeigh’s guilt, justice needs to be carried out fairly.
“If any questions or doubts remain about this case, it would cast a permanent cloud over justice,” said Ashcroft. “It is my responsibility to promote and protect the integrity of our system of justice.”
McVeigh’s lawyer Rob Nigh said his client is considering his options in light of the error. So far McVeigh has turned down opportunities to appeal his sentence and conviction, but Nigh said he will now take a “fresh look” at his case. Nigh said McVeigh was “distressed” by the latest developments.
McVeigh, 33, was scheduled to die by lethal injection next Wednesday for the 1995 bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
The blast killed 168 people, 19 of them children. It remains the deadliest ever attack on U.S. soil.
The 3,135 documents came from 45 FBI offices across the United States and one in Paris. They were discovered after an FBI archivist issued a call for material related to the bombing.
The documents include interview notes, tapes and photographs generated by thousands of phone calls made to the FBI after the bombing.
“You think these people can find a vehicle identification number on a demolished Ryder truck but they can’t find 3,100 documents? I think someone made the decision not to disclose those documents,” said Michael McGuire, an attorney for bombing witness Michael Fortier and bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols.
However, Justice Department officials maintain the documents, which may include duplicates, would not have changed the outcome of the trial. They also note that McVeigh confessed to the bombing.
U.S. president George Bush backed Ashcroft’s decision during a news conference. He said in death penalty cases it’s especially important to make sure people have been treated fairly.
