Nichols Guilty of 161 Counts of Murder

[Dreamer128]

MCALESTER, Okla., May 26 -- A state jury on Wednesday found Terry L. Nichols guilty of 161 counts of murder for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, bringing the mild-mannered father of three one step closer to the death sentence he avoided in his federal trial.

Judge Steven Taylor said the trial will move to the penalty phase on Tuesday, when the same jurors will hear at least a month of testimony on whether the state of Oklahoma should execute Nichols.

Nichols, who is already serving a federal life term for the bombing, looked straight ahead and showed no reaction as the judge read the verdict, which came after five hours of deliberation. His mother, Joyce Wilt, hung her head.

Relatives of the victims, who were warned by the judge to restrain themselves, clutched one another's hands with tears in their eyes. As soon as the court adjourned, many collapsed into the arms of prosecutors, thanking them.

"No one has ever been tried for these 161 murders," said Darlene Welch, whose 4-year-old niece perished in the blast. "It's good to know someone is now accountable for Ashley's death. He has never taken responsibility for any of this."

In 1997, Nichols and a former Army buddy, Timothy J. McVeigh, were convicted in federal court in Denver for the deaths of eight federal law enforcement officials in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The blast killed 168 people.

McVeigh was executed for the crime, but -- to the disappointment of many relatives of the victims -- Nichols was convicted of manslaughter instead of murder at the federal trial, and he was spared the death penalty.

"I could hardly walk out of the courtroom in Denver -- I was devastated," said Diane Leonard, whose husband, Donald, a Secret Service agent, was killed in the bombing. "This jury understood the evidence. . . . I am so grateful these prosecutors hung in there with us to get this to trial here."

Death penalty foes cast the state trial as a search for vengeance, not justice. Over the years, many in Oklahoma lost their appetite for the $5 million trial. Public opinion surveys showed that a vast majority opposed trying Nichols again, believing that the money could be better used because Nichols was already serving a life sentence.

But Oklahoma County District Attorney Wesley Lane pushed forward, supported by many victims' families. Although he did not argue the case himself, he sat with the relatives Wednesday and held them as they received the news. Lane declined to comment, saying that a gag order was still in place.

Nichols, 49, was ultimately charged with the remaining 161 deaths, including that of a fetus. As in the federal trial, prosecutors built a circumstantial case to show that Nichols conspired with McVeigh for months to amass components for a two-ton truck bomb -- fertilizer and fuel -- and to hide them in storage sheds that they rented using aliases. They also alleged that Nichols robbed a quarry to get a detonation cord and blasting caps for the attack.

In the end, however, it was undisputed that McVeigh alone drove the Ryder truck to Oklahoma City, detonating the explosives in front of the Murrah building at the beginning of a workday. Defense attorneys argued that Nichols was set up by his old friend, for a crime McVeigh committed with others. They painted McVeigh as deceitful, someone who even had an affair with Nichols's wife. Nichols did not take the stand. He has never spoken publicly about the bombing.

Nichols's punishment for some of the other charges was announced as the verdicts were read. In the death of the fetus, the jury sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. For the charge of arson, he was given 35 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. And for the conspiracy charge, was given 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Outside the courtroom, family members still raw from their losses in 1995 spoke of their relief.

"It's not about the death penalty. It's about accountability," said Shelly Thompson Fravert, who lost her mother, Virginia Thompson. "We felt our loved ones were left out of the Denver case. We didn't want them to be just a number. . . . I'll leave what happens to him now up to God."

But others clearly felt that it was about death. Asked if Nichols should receive the ultimate punishment, Dallas Davis said: "I don't think he should be able to visit with his mother and sister. I don't have the privilege of visiting with my daughter. You can draw your own conclusions."


© 2004 The Washington Post Company

[Timber Loftis]

Look, I'm all for the DP -- but this crap is stupid. He has been convicted -- he's in for life. It is a WASTE OF MY TAX DOLLARS to go dragging him back through court just so you can hang him. Did you see that it cost $5 million for the trial? That's a lot of soup kitchens, or flack jackets in Iraq, or port authority jobs on the west coast -- the money could certainly been put to better use.

You know, they could just let him rot. If it looks like he'll get out, bring the charges then. There is no statute of limitation on a murder charge, so they could just wait.

Bah.

[promethius9594]

oh, timber, you live in oklahoma? because i doubt your federal taxes paid for a oklahoma STATE trial... and i strongly doubt that oklahoma's taxes are paying for flak jackets in iraq or for port authorities at the west coast.

that aside, i dont know. i am for the DP, but if i were on the jury, i think i would have a d@m^ hard time ordering for a man to be put to death... i'd probably vote against death penalty if it were me, but thats for reasons that are banned on this forum.

[Timber Loftis]

The government doles out money to the states in large amounts. Sure, there were no particular dollars designated for this trial, of course, but let's not ignore the fact that a dollar taken from one State program is usually used in another, and that all the State programs receive varying degrees of federal funding. It's not as if you can really separate them out. And, if OK spent less on its State affairs, it would have more money for other programs, making it take less from the feds -- which could affect port authorities on the West Coast.

Besides, even it you could draw a box around the State expenses, $5 mil. wasted is $5 mil. wasted, isn't it?

[promethius9594]

i agree, it would be a wasted five mil. my burning question is... what in the world made the trial cost 5 million? what were they feeding the jury? straight diet of filet mignon and caviar for that budget...

[True_Moose]

Originally posted by promethius9594: i agree, it would be a wasted five mil. my burning question is... what in the world made the trial cost 5 million? what were they feeding the jury? straight diet of filet mignon and caviar for that budget...

Well, I asked my mom (a lawyer) about this one (maybe it's different in the US, TL could tell you if I'm wrong,) but there are a lot of people to pay in a case like this. Don't forget, as well as paying the prosecutors over a fairly long amount of time (at one point it talks about the trial going on for several years), the state has to pay the judge, the clerks, etc, as well as any expert witnesses (presumably there were, in a bombing case,) and police's salaries (they're still working, even in the courtroom.) I'm not sure what else goes into the $5 million figure, but I'm sure that, storing evidence and whatnot cuts into that alot too.

My problem is that in a death penalty case, there are all the so-called "gangplank" appeals. Why bother when the guy's already in the slammer for life? I don't think anyone doubts he's guilty, so why bring him to the forefront every time he tries to discredit his lawyers or some other outlandish defense. Let him rot in a hole somewhere, where we forget him, and we can remember the victims, who actually matter.

[Timber Loftis]

I agree with TrueMoose's first paragraph. Add up the Prosecutor's time, the judge's time, the court clerk's time, the reporter's time, if applicable, the public defender's time, and other court staff time, and for a case/trial taking several years, $5 mil. is easy to come buy. Even at my relatively-cheap rate of $150/hr. (partners I work with bill at $350+/hr.), I still bill some clients upwards of $20,000 per month.