[160]
A key point of contention in the case was the unmatched left leg found after the bombing.
Although it was initially believed to be from a male, it was later determined to be that of Lakesha
Levy, a female member of the Air Force who was killed in the bombing.
[163]
Levy's coffin had to
be re-opened so that her leg could replace another unmatched leg that had previously been buried
with her remains. The unmatched leg had been embalmed, which prevented authorities from
being able to extract DNA to determine the leg's owner.
[92]
Jones argued that the leg could have
belonged to another bomber, possibly John Doe #2.
[92]
The prosecution disputed the claim, saying
that the leg could have belonged to any one of eight victims who had been buried without a left
leg.
[164]
Numerous damaging leaks, which appeared to originate from conversations between McVeigh
and his defense attorneys, emerged. They included a confession said to have been inadvertently
included on a computer disk that was given to the press, which McVeigh believed seriously
compromised his chances of getting a fair trial.
[160]
A
gag order
was imposed during the trial,
prohibiting attorneys on either side from commenting to the press on the evidence, proceedings,
or opinions regarding the trial proceedings. The defense was allowed to enter into evidence six
pages of a 517-page Justice Department report criticizing the FBI crime laboratory and David
Williams, one of the agency's explosives experts, for reaching unscientific and biased
conclusions. The report claimed that Williams had worked backward in the investigation rather
than basing his determinations on forensic evidence.
[165]
The jury deliberated for 23 hours. On June 2, 1997, McVeigh was found guilty on eleven counts
of murder and conspiracy.
[166]
[167]
Although the defense argued for a reduced sentence of life
imprisonment, McVeigh was sentenced to death.
[168]
In May 2001, the FBI announced that it had
withheld over 3,000 documents from McVeigh's defense counsel.
[169]
The execution was
postponed for one month for the defense to review the documents. On June 6, federal judge
Richard Paul Matsch
ruled the documents would not prove McVeigh innocent and ordered the
execution to proceed.
[170]
After President
George W. Bush
approved the execution (McVeigh was
a federal inmate and federal law dictates that the President must approve the execution of federal
prisoners), he was executed by
lethal injection
at the
Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute
in
Terre Haute
,
Indiana
, on June 11.
[171]
[172]
[173]
The execution was transmitted on
closed-circuit
television
so that the relatives of the victims could witness his death.
[174]
McVeigh's execution
was the first
federal execution
in 38 years.
[175]
[
edit
] Terry Nichols
Main article:
Terry Nichols
Nichols stood trial twice. He was first tried by the federal government in 1997 and found guilty
of conspiring to build a weapon of mass destruction and of eight counts of involuntary
manslaughter of federal officers.
[176]
After he was sentenced on June 4, 1998 to life without
