Executed June 11, 2001 by Lethal Injection by U.S. Government at Terre Haute, Indiana

34th murderer executed in U.S. in 2001
717th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
1st murderer executed by U.S. Government in 2001
1st murderer executed by U.S. Government since 1963

Summary:
On April 19, 1995, around 9:03 a.m., just after parents dropped their children off at day care at the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, the unthinkable happened. A massive bomb inside a rental truck exploded, blowing half of the nine-story building into oblivion. A stunned nation watched as the bodies of men, women, and children were pulled from the rubble for nearly two weeks. When the smoke cleared and the exhausted rescue workers packed up and left, 168 people were dead in the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. (Prior to 09-11-01) It was the second anniversary of the fire at the home of David Koresh's Branch Davidian followers in Waco, Texas.

Just 90 minutes after the explosion, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer pulled over 27-year-old Timothy McVeigh for driving without a license plate.
Shortly before he was to be released on April 21, McVeigh was recognized as a bombing suspect and was charged with the bombing.
When McVeigh's ex-Army buddy, Terry Nichols, discovered that he, too, was wanted for questioning, he voluntarily surrendered to police in Herington, Kansas, and was later charged in the bombing.

The federal raids at the Branch Davidian compound at Waco and the cabin of white separatist Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge brought McVeigh's anti-government hatred to a head. He decided it was time for action, not words. He packed a Ryder truck with explosives, lit the fuses, parked it outside the federal building and walked away without looking back.

McVeigh was sentenced to death. Nichols was tried separately, convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter and Concpiracy to Use a Weapon of Mass Destruction, and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

McVeigh was unrepentant to the bitter end, claiming that the true terrorist was the U.S. Government, and referring to the killing of scores of innocent children in Oklahoma City as "collateral damage." He waived his final appeals.

Citations:
U.S. v. McVeigh, 918 F.Supp. 1452 (W.D.Okl. 1996)(Media request to unseal documents).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 918 F.Supp. 1467 (W.D.Okl. 1996) (Change of Venue).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 923 F.Supp. 1310 (D.Colo. 1996) (Discovery).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 931 F.Supp. 753 (D.Colo. 1996) (Motion to Stop Trial Audiotape).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 931 F.Supp. 756 (D.Colo. 1996) (Gag Order).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 940 F.Supp. 1541 (D.Colo. 1996) (Motion to Suppress).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 940 F.Supp. 1571 (D.Colo. 1996) (Motions to Dismiss).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 944 F.Supp. 1478 (D.Colo. 1996) (Motion to Dismiss DP/Disqualify AG).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 169 F.R.D. 362 (D.Colo. 1996) (Motion for Separate Trials).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 954 F.Supp. 1441 (D.Colo. 1997) (Discovery).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 954 F.Supp. 1454 (D.Colo. 1997) (Discovery).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 955 F.Supp. 1278 (D.Colo. 1997) (Motion to Exclude Lab Testing).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 955 F.Supp. 1281 (D.Colo. 1997) (Motion for Change of Venue/Continuance).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 958 F.Supp. 512 (D.Colo. 1997) (Separation of Victim/Witnesses).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 964 F.Supp. 313 (D.Colo. 1997) (Gag Order).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 118 F.Supp.2d 1137 (D.Colo. 2000) (Motion for New Trial).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 153 F.3d 1166 (10th Cir. 1998)(Direct Appeal), cert. denied, 119 S.Ct. 1148 (1999).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 2001 WL 611163 (D.Colo. 2001) (Stay of Execution).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 106 F.3d 325 10th Cir. 1997) (Separation of Victim/Witnesses).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 119 F.3d 806 (10th Cir. 1997) (Motion to Unseal), cert. denied, 118 S.Ct. 1110 (1998).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 157 F.3d 809 (10th Cir. 1998) (Removing Gag Order).
U.S. v. McVeigh, 9 Fed.Appx. 980 (10th Cir. 2001) (Stay of Execution — Documents).

Internet Sources:

"KWTV Special Report on the Oklahoma City Bombing."
Names, ages, and photos of McVeigh's 168 murder victims; History and timeline; Court transcripts and documents; Who's Who; Department of Justice Costs; News archives; Video Clips.

"Oklahoma City Bombing Trials." (CNN.Com Special Report)
The Bombing; The Courtroom Cast; The McVeigh Trial; The Nichols Trial; Trial Transcripts; Video Almanac of the 1995 Bombing; Links;

"The Oklahoma City Bombing." (ABCNews Special Report)
The Case, Key Players, The Issues, Archives, Transcripts, Links.

"After Oklahoma City, a Special Report." (PBS Online News Hour 2001)
Links to articles and video on the Oklahoma City bombing, and the McVeigh trial and execution.

Court Transcript of jury verdict for a death sentence returned against Timothy McVeigh. (June 13, 1997)
Official jury verdict reciting the special findings of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in the case of United States of America v. Timothy James McVeigh in Criminal Action No. 96-CR-68 in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, in Denver, Colorado on June 13, 1997.

"Victims' Rights - and Wrongs in the McVeigh Trial." by Bruce Shapiro. (Salon Magazine, June 13, 1997)
Why the Prosecution did not let us hear from the relatives of the dead who did not want Timothy McVeigh to die?

Evansville Courier & Press: The Death Penalty. (2001)
Latest death penalty headlines and links to over 200 archived McVeigh news articles from the Evansville Courier published since 1997; Photo series on McVeigh Execution; Photo series on Kentucky Death Penalty; Death Penalty Links; Real Player Video of Terre Haute Federal Prison and Execution Chamber; Real Video of Evansville Town Hall Forum, Eye for an Eye (May 14, 2001).

"Court: No Taping of McVeigh's Execution," by Joseph A. Slobodzian. (Philly.Com June 9, 2001)
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia yesterday reversed a lower-court ruling that would have required the videotaping of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's execution.

Yahoo Full Coverage News: McVeigh Execution / Oklahoma City Bombing.
Links to news articles, magazine articles, audio/video, editorials and court documents from major media outlets on the execution of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing.

A collection of anti-death penalty news articles in 2001 on McVeigh execution, from Deathrow Speaks.
Reposting of 45 news articles in 2001 from major media outlets on the execution of Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh, including McVeigh's last words and lawyer's statements, FBI documents, No autopsy agreement, execution stays, etc.

"A Father's Urge to Forgive," by Bud Welch. (Time June 16, 1997)
Short essay from father of Oklahoma City bombing victim, who has become outspoken critic of the death penalty.

McVeigh: Sentenced to Die (PBS Online, June 13, 1997)

"Interview With Timothy McVeigh," by Patrick Cole. (Time.Com March 30, 1966)

"Martyr Without A Cause: The Sad, Destructive & Wasted Life Of Timothy McVeigh," by Jane Wanklin.

The McVeigh Execution: Articles, Documents, and Video from CNN.Com.

The Oklahoma City Bombing Case: The Trial of Timothy McVeigh. (CourtTV, 1998)

Oklahoma City Bombing Trial Report. (WashingtonPost.Com)

"Oklahoma DA Macy Disqualified in Nichols Trial," by Tim Talley. (ABCNews/AP October 16, 2000)

"McVeigh Executed; Dies With His Eyes Open," by Rex W. Huppke. (APBNews June 11, 2001)

"The McVeigh Effect: Federal Death Row," by Earl Ofari Hutchinson. (Salon.Com May 9, 2001)

"McVeigh to Macbeth: The Difference Between Revenge, Retribution, and Right." (Reason Online July 2001)

"McVeigh Proves Why We Need a Moratorium," by Tom Lowenstein. (American Prospect May 15, 2001)

U.S.A. v. McVeigh: June 7, 2001 Order Denying Final Stay of Execution. (About.Com)

U.S.A. v. McVeigh: "Notice of Intent to Forego Further Appeals," from The Smoking Gun. (2001)

Timothy McVeigh Vigo County Death Certificate, from The Smoking Gun. (2001)

"No Autopsy" Agreement between McVeigh and Vigo County Coroner, from The Smoking Gun. (2001)

CNN.Com (June 13, 1997)

McVeigh Sentenced to Die for Oklahoma City Bombing

DENVER (CNN) -- Despite an emotional last-minute plea from his parents, Timothy James McVeigh was sentenced to death Friday for his role in the worst case of terrorism in U.S. history -- the Oklahoma City bombing. The seven-man, five-woman panel unanimously chose death by lethal injection for the 29-year-old Gulf War veteran, after deliberating for 11 hours over two days.
Anything less than a unanimous verdict would have meant life in prison without parole. The jury also could have opted to send the case back to the judge and let him determine the sentence.

Penalty is for killing federal agents

The same federal jury who sentenced McVeigh convicted him of murder and conspiracy last week in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building that killed 168 people. He was tried for conspiracy to commit the attack and for the deaths of eight federal law agents who were in the building when a massive diesel fuel-fertilizer bomb ripped the front off the nine-story building.
McVeigh was charged along with his Army buddy Terry Nichols, who will be tried at a later date.
Testimony for the penalty phase in McVeigh's trial ended Wednesday, and deliberations began Thursday after the completion of closing arguments.

Jurors never heard from McVeigh himself during the four-day penalty phase of the trial. Instead, 27 witnesses were called to portray him as a friendly child and first-rate soldier who left the Gulf War disillusioned and restless.
Supporting a contention made by the prosecution, the defense argued that the 1993 siege near Waco, Texas, became a source of bitter anger for McVeigh. About 80 members of the Branch Davidian cult were killed during a federal assault exactly two years before the Oklahoma blast.

At times, jurors were in tears

Prosecutors, citing vivid testimony from blast survivors and victims, argued that the blast was so lethal and destructive that McVeigh deserved death. Several prosecution witnesses brought jurors to tears with their accounts of mayhem, heroism and random death in Oklahoma City.
Although all of the jurors, before they were selected, told the court they would be willing to consider the death penalty, Colorado juries have tended to be reluctant to sentence defendants to death. The state has five people on death row, and hasn't executed anyone since 1967.

A passion for weapons

The trial was moved to Denver by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch because he said McVeigh could not "obtain a fair and impartial trial at any place" in Oklahoma.

The son of a General Motors auto worker from a rural area near Buffalo, New York, McVeigh went on to become an Army platoon leader, serving in a Bradley Fighting vehicle during the Gulf War.
After his return to the United States, he was discharged from the Army and took a series of odd jobs, drifting across the country and spending time with militia groups. Both sides offered testimony during the trial on his passion for weapons and his zealous opposition to gun control.

The Lamp of Hope (Chicago Tribune)

June 11 2001, 8:01 AM CDT

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Timothy James McVeigh, who murdered 168 people and maimed hundreds of others in what he believed was an act of patriotism, was put to death by lethal injection early today.
The 33-year-old decorated Persian Gulf War veteran who masterminded America's worst act of domestic terrorism was pronounced dead at 7:14 a.m. CDT.

Strapped to a gray padded execution table inside the federal government's sterile, sea green-tiled death chamber, McVeigh received a lethal combination of drugs that rendered him unconscious, arrested his breathing and stopped his heart.
In minutes, the small-town boy who became an army of one and ultimately this country's worst mass murderer was forever silenced.

McVeigh made no final remarks but gave witnesses a handwritten copy of English poet William Ernest Henley's 1875 poem, "Invictus": "In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed..."
"I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."

Survivors and family members took solace in McVeigh's death. Janice Smith, whose 46-year-old brother, Lanny Scroggins, died in the bombing, prayed with her children at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, then left after getting word that McVeigh was dead.
"It's over," she said. "We don't have to continue with him anymore."
Earlier, a silent vigil began without fanfare -- 168 minutes, one minute for each victim killed in the tragedy.

McVeigh's execution was witnessed by 10 survivors and victims' relatives from the bombing of Oklahoma City's Murrah federal building on April 19, 1995.
Meanwhile, about 600 miles away, an estimated 300 people gathered in a large, square room of a federal prisoner transfer facility near Will Rogers World Airport to watch the execution unfold on a large video screen.
McVeigh was permitted to choose six witnesses and selected five: his lawyers, Robert Nigh Jr. and Nathan Chambers; Cate McCauley, a former member of his defense team; and Buffalo (N.Y.) News reporter and biographer Lou Michel. A fifth witness, author Gore Vidal, announced he could not attend.
The execution took place inside the federal government's death chamber at Terre Haute's sprawling, red-brick U.S. penitentiary complex. It was the federal government's first execution since 1963, when Victor Feguer was hanged for the crime of kidnapping.

McVeigh's execution came nearly four years to the day from his conviction. McVeigh at first appealed, but by last December, he decided to waive any further appeals and await his execution.
He initially was scheduled to be executed May 16. Then, just five days before he was supposed to die, U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft postponed the execution to give McVeigh's lawyers time to sift through 4,400 pages of investigative documents that had never been turned over to McVeigh's defense team before his 1997 trial.
The embarrassing disclosure led Ashcroft to reschedule the execution to today, angering survivors and victims' relatives who had prepared themselves emotionally and logistically for the May 16 date.
Once ready to die, McVeigh asked his lawyers to request a stay from the trial judge in his case, U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch. Last week Matsch refused, and when the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Matsch's ruling, McVeigh told his lawyers he had no desire to appeal to a higher court.

Two other men were convicted for their involvement. Terry Nichols was convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy for helping McVeigh and was sentenced to life in prison. He still faces state murder charges. Another friend of McVeigh's, Michael Fortier, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for failing to warn law enforcement authorities about McVeigh and Nichols' plans.

The Buffalo News published letters from McVeigh on Sunday that had the guise of apology, but repeated the same rationalizations he has clung to since he rigged a Ryder rental truck into a 7,000-pound fertilizer bomb and detonated it in front of the Murrah building.
McVeigh wrote that taking 168 lives, including those of 19 children, was a "legit tactic." He previously has described the bombing as revenge for a mission to avenge the 1993 siege on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.
"I'm sorry these people had to lose their lives," McVeigh wrote to the News, his hometown newspaper. "But that's the nature of the beast. It's understood going in what the human toll will be."

Tom Kight, whose 23-year-old daughter, Frankie Merrell, died in the bombing, viewed McVeigh's words as hollow and inconsequential.
"I don't see it as an apology," Kight said from Oklahoma City. "His act spoke for itself. He knew innocent men, women and children were going to be killed.
"There are a lot of ways of dealing with the government," Kight continued, "but you're never going to change government through terrorism. Whatever his justification might be, 168 people died. Nineteen children died. That just won't do it with me."

McVeigh's parents and two sisters were not at the prison. His father, William McVeigh, has said he wants to remember his son as the boy who played Little League, and the marksman soldier who received a medal for killing two Iraqi soldiers with a single shot from his Bradley vehicle, not the embittered drifter who embraced so-called patriot groups.

At 4:10 a.m. Sunday, McVeigh was moved from the federal prison's special confinement unit into the execution building, where he remained in a 9-foot by 14-foot beige cinder-block cell with a bunk, television, stainless steel sink and toilet.
"He's been cooperative through the entire process, and things have gone pretty much as planned," said U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesman Richard Russell.
During McVeigh's transfer to the execution building, his condemned client looked up into the night sky and gazed at the moon, something he hadn't been able to do in years, said his lawyer, Nigh.
McVeigh not only seemed resigned to his fate, he seemed relatively comfortable with it. He caught a couple of hours of sleep early Sunday morning, and had planned to sleep again Sunday night, said Nigh's co-counsel, Chambers. He watched television on a small black-and-white set in his cell. When he spoke with Chambers and Nigh on Sunday, he appeared at ease and talked freely.
"I'd say he is in amazingly good spirits," Chambers said. "He is pleasant to talk to, he continues to be affable. He continues to be rational in his discourse, He maintains his sense of humor."
He was allowed visits with his lawyers or a spiritual adviser up until two hours before the execution. McVeigh had his last meal at noon Sunday: two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Terre Haute, a city of 60,000, expected legions of demonstrators, but by nightfall Sunday only about 200 had gathered at the prison. Death penalty opponents sat in a circle on dewy grass and, vigil candles in hand, prayed for 168 minutes to represent the 168 victims of the bombing, as well as for McVeigh.
"Yes, we find ourselves praying for Timothy McVeigh and his family, and for all those who sit on death row," said Sister Ann Casper, a Sister of Providence from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute. "I just feel anything I can do to raise my voice against the death penalty is important, and this is how I chose to do it."

Chosen as the site for federal executions because of its central location in the U.S., Terre Haute may be the site of another federal execution in just eight days, when Juan Raul Garza is scheduled to die for his involvement in three drug-related murders.
Garza, 43, was the leader of a drug ring that smuggled tons of marijuana into the U.S. between 1983 and 1993. Garza has appealed his death sentence to the U.S. Supreme Court.

New Hampshire Coalition to Abolish Death Penalty

"Witnesses Describe McVeigh's Last Minutes," by Mark K. Matthews, Sentinel Staff.

The witnesses pressed their faces to the glass wall of the death chamber, holding photos of their loved ones as they faced Timothy McVeigh just a few feet away.
They could see McVeigh as he lay strapped to a gurney, wrapped in a sheet, waiting to die.
They heard the orders for the execution. They watched the fluids flow into his body, and they saw the color of his face change as his life slowly ebbed away.

But the 33-year-old mass murderer could not see the families of his victims. Maybe, they hoped, he would feel their presence.
Ronald Brown of Keystone Heights, near Gainesville, was one of the 10 survivors or relatives of McVeigh's 168 victims chosen by lottery to attend the execution in Terre Haute, Ind.
"I had one thing on my mind," said Brown, 37, who lost his father-in-law, Robert Westberry, in the blast. "And that was to get through this."
When Brown caught sight of McVeigh, the killer was dressed in a white shirt and khaki pants, an IV already inserted in his right leg.
Warden Harley Lappin, standing with his arms crossed, almost at attention, asked McVeigh if he had any final words.
There was a one-minute pause. McVeigh's head remained fixed, his eyes still staring in the camera, rarely blinking.
"He could not see us, but I was pretty sure he knew what window he was looking into," Brown said. "He looked toward us first -- nonchalant, like -- and then nodded at his attorneys."

The Associated Press' Rex Huppke, one of the media witnesses, said that minutes before McVeigh took his final breath, he raised his head, strained his neck slightly and tried to acknowledge everyone who would watch him die.
Once Lappin issued the order to proceed with the execution, McVeigh swallowed hard. His eyes moved slightly from side to side. His chest moved up and down, and his lips twice puffed air out, as if he were trying to maintain consciousness.

A guard in the witness room announced the first drug had been administered. Ten minutes had passed: It was 8:10 a.m. EDT. McVeigh's eyes remained open, but they began to glass over, started rolling up just slightly. His pale skin began to turn slightly yellow.
At 8:11 a.m., the guard said the second drug had been administered. The warden looked straight ahead, glancing down at McVeigh just occasionally.
The convicted bomber's lips began to turn the slightest tinge of blue. He was still.

It was 8:14 a.m.

Fight the Death Penalty in the USA

Remaining silent and showing no emotion, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was executed Monday morning.
McVeigh died by lethal injection at 7:14 a.m. (8:14 a.m. EDT) at the Federal Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
McVeigh was executed for the April 19, 1995, attack in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people and wounded hundreds more. The bombing was the deadliest terrorism act ever on U.S. soil.
McVeigh's death was the first federal execution since 1963.

The 33-year-old Gulf War veteran did not say a word in the final minutes before his execution. Media witnesses said McVeigh lifted his head and looked at them and then looked at the ceiling. He died with his eyes open.
McVeigh left a handwritten statement quoting Invictus, a 19th century poem by British poet William Ernest Henley. It ends with the lines "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."
McVeigh's body was removed immediately after his execution in a government van, Justice Department officials said. They would not give any information about its destination.
McVeigh's body is to be cremated, but his lawyers said information about his remains and any resting place would remain privileged.

'Just a big relief,' witness says

Ten people -- members of the victims' families and survivors of the bombing -- also witnessed the execution from a room beside the death chamber.
Paul Howell, whose daughter was killed in the bombing, said McVeigh was expressionless.
"What I was hoping for is that we could see some kind of 'I'm sorry,' but we didn't get anything like that. My emotions were that it was just a big relief. Just a big sigh came over my body and it felt real good," Howell said.

More than 650 miles away in Oklahoma City, 232 survivors and family members watched on closed-circuit television.
"He actually lifted his head and looked directly in the camera, and it was as if he was looking directly at us," said Larry Whicher, who lost his brother. "His eyes were unblinking. They appeared to be coal black. I truly believe that his eyes were telling me ... that if he could, he would do it all over again."

Bush: 'Not vengeance, but justice'

U.S. Attorney General Ashcroft met with victims' families in Oklahoma City for about a half-hour before the execution. Ashcroft spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said he wanted to be in Oklahoma City to "thank them for their guidance through this process, to thank them from their patience and to again express sorrow for their loss." He did not stay for the closed-circuit viewing.

About a half-hour after the execution, President Bush said that McVeigh had "met the fate he chose for himself six years ago.
"The victims of the Oklahoma City bombing have been given not vengeance, but justice," the president said.
McVeigh's attorneys, who had sought a new sentencing hearing after the FBI revealed last month it had withheld thousands of pages of documents during the trial, decried the execution and said it would not end the pain.
"If killing McVeigh does not bring peace or closure to them, I suggest to you that it is our fault," said Robert Nigh, who witnessed his client's death with colleague Nathan Chambers. "We have made killing a part of the healing process."

Execution draws international criticism

Following the execution, a steady stream of visitors could be seen at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Center. Some family members could be seen praying and hugging each other in front of the 168 chairs representing the victims of the attack.
Fewer people than expected turned out for protests supporting and opposing the execution. About 75 anti-death penalty protesters had participated in a two-mile march from St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church to the prison on Sunday.

The execution has drawn international criticism. The president of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly called it "sad, pathetic and wrong.
"It demonstrated the futility of capital punishment to act as a deterrent, giving him the notoriety he sought in committing this horrendous crime," Lord Russel-Johnson said in a statement. "It is high time the United States rethought its attitude to the death penalty and aligned its position with the great majority of the free and democratic world."

Read McVeigh's Final Written Statement!