The Oklahoma City Bombing Case

(August 28, 1997) Timothy McVeigh has been granted his wish and will have a new lead attorney handling his appeals case. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appointed Robert Nigh, Jr., another member of McVeigh's defense team during his trial, to lead McVeigh's appeal of his conviction for the Oklahoma City bombing.

Timothy McVeigh's former lawyer, Stephen Jones, had asked to be removed from his client's case in a motion filed on Aug. 20. Jones reportedly wrote that McVeigh has become so angry and self-destructive that he has no other choice but to withdraw from his case. Without first consulting Jones, McVeigh had told The Buffalo News on Aug. 13 that he did not want Jones to handle his appeals case because he had "screwed up" his trial. McVeigh also indicated in the interview that his relationship with Jones began to deteriorate in February after a story alleging that McVeigh claimed responsibility for the bombing appeared in The Dallas Morning News.

In a statement issued from his law office in Oklahoma, Stephen Jones said that an enormous responsibility and burden had been lifted and that for the first time in over two years he felt like his life was his own again.

Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced for the Oklahoma City bombing on Aug. 14. In June, a jury convicted McVeigh of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and weapons-related charges in the bombing that killed 168 people and injured more than 500 on April 19, 1995. The same jury later sentenced him to death by lethal injection.

Meanwhile, jury selection for the trial of Oklahoma City bombing co-defendant and former McVeigh army buddy Terry Nichols is scheduled to begin Sept. 29. However, Nichols's attorneys filed a motion on Aug. 11 to move the trial from Denver to San Francisco because of the heavy media coverage during McVeigh's trial in the Denver area. They think that the heavy media attention from McVeigh's trial in that area will make it impossible for Nichols to receive an unbiased jury during his trial. Judge Matsch has yet to rule on this motion. On Aug. 13 Judge Matsch denied Nichols's request to remove U.S. Attorney Patrick Ryan from the case. Nichols's attorneys had claimed that Ryan was overly emotional during McVeigh's trial, and this unfairly swayed the jury. Judge Matsch rejected the defense's motion after Ryan assured the judge that he would try to control his emotions during Nichols's trial.

Nichols also has asked the judge to disallow the possibility of the death penalty during his trial in a separate motion filed Aug. 5. Nichols's attorneys claim that Nichols has been charged as an accomplice and not the central figure in the crime, and a 1987 Supreme Court ruling forbids the federal execution of an accomplice. Nichols also has been charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons-related counts in the bombing. This is the third time Nichols has requested that the death penalty be barred from his trial. His two previous attempts have failed.