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For many, verdict means justice
June 3, 1997Web posted at: 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT)
In this story:
- Survivors, victims' relatives
- Prosecution
- Defense
- President Clinton
- Oklahoma governor
- McVeigh family
- Courtroom atmosphere
- 'They didn't prove it'
DENVER (CNN) -- Survivors and victims' relatives struggled with the oil-and-water mix of public joy and personal sorrow Monday after Timothy McVeigh was found guilty in the Oklahoma City bombing.
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McVeigh was convicted on eight counts of murder in the deaths of eight federal workers in the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building, which killed 168 people and injured hundreds.
He was also found guilty of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, use of a weapon of mass destruction and destruction by explosive. He faces the death penalty.
Survivors, victims' relatives
"It's happy but sad. Your stomach just kind of turns in knots ... I'm just so pleased," said Charles Tomlin, whose grown son died in the truck bomb explosion. He watched the case unfold in the courtroom.
"My son would be very proud that we got some justice for him," Tomlin said.
"I just looked up, and looked at my brother up in heaven," while waiting for the verdicts to be read, said Rudy Guzman, whose words were choked with sobs. He lost his brother, Marine Capt. Randy Guzman, in the blast.
At the bomb site in Oklahoma City survivors wore expressions of joyous incredulity as the word "guilty" echoed 11 times across the grounds.
"Closure implies to me that you maybe get something back that you're looking for," said Dr. Paul Heath, president of the Murrah Bombing Survivors Group. "What it does do -- it answers who did it, and possibly why they did it."
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Survivors and others, including Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, gathered in a circle around the "Survivor Tree" across from the bomb site for a closure ceremony Monday evening. They sang and prayed, and sprinkled bottled water in a representation of tears.
"This case put the justice system right back on track," Jim Denny, father of two children hurt in the explosion, said immediately after the verdict.
More than anything, he said, the verdict made him feel relieved for the other suffering families. (255K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
"I felt there were 168 smiles from above," said Dan McKinney, who lost his wife.
Alice Denison's father, Mickey Maroney, was also one of the federal employees killed, and she said she had mixed emotions about what should happen now. She said the death sentence could prove the easy way out.
"Parts of me -- I want the death penalty, but how easy is that, a shot in the arm and you go to sleep? Another part of me kind of wants life, because ... I'm kind of torn there."
Bombing survivor Randy Norfleet, who testified at the trial, said he was glad the jury didn't rush to judgment as he felt the O.J. Simpson double murder trial jury had. The bombing trial jury deliberated four days, the Simpson jury about four hours.
"I think there was a lot of pressure on the jury because of the O.J. Simpson trial to make sure that the judicial process was complete and that we gave it full justice," Norfleet said on CNN's "Burden of Proof."
As with many others who still carry vivid, unspeakable images from the blast, William Baay was overcome with emotion immediately after the verdict was announced.
Baay was working near the building at the time of the blast, and ran over to start digging into the rubble with his bare hands to try to rescue those trapped beneath.
"One of the ladies that I spoke with -- she was screaming and hollering, "I can't breathe," as she quit breathing," Baay recalled, shaking with sadness. (238K/23 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
Prosecution
Cheers went up outside the courthouse in Denver as news of the verdict was announced, and again as the prosecutors left the building. Although prosecution attorneys appeared flushed with excitement, smiling lead prosecutor Joseph Hartzler motioned for the crowd to be quiet.
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"All I want to say on behalf of the entire prosecution team and all the federal agencies that supported this prosecution: We thank the victims for their patience and dignity throughout this long ordeal," Hartzler said.
"We're obviously very pleased with the result. We always had confidence in our evidence -- now everyone else will have confidence in the evidence and the verdict. We're ready to move onto the next stage."
Defense
Lead defense attorney Stephen Jones, visibly subdued, told reporters he could not comment specifically on the verdict under the terms stipulated by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch. But he congratulated Hartzler, the other prosecutors and the FBI.
"We have visited with Mr. McVeigh," Jones said. "We will be working with him tonight and tomorrow for the preparation of the second stage on Wednesday. Beyond that I cannot say more."
When asked, Jones said it was "natural" for him, Jones, to be disappointed with the verdict, "but it is the American way for the jury to hear the evidence and give us their opinion, and they have done that, and we are not going to question their verdict."
President Clinton
At the White House, President Clinton waited for the news.
"I cannot comment on the jury's verdict," he said in a statement. "But I will say that this is a very important and long overdue day for the survivors and families of those who died in Oklahoma City."
Clinton said he was particularly proud of the work done by Attorney General Janet Reno, the prosecutors, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Oklahoma governor
The Oklahoma governor said attorneys on both sides did a good job, and he credited the prosecution with building a solid wall of evidence.
"It's a blizzard of emotions -- ecstasy and also agony that we had to go through this to start with," Keating told CNN.
"The agony that we went through needed to be redeemed, and
needed to be recompensed, and that did occur and we're very
happy that this part is over." (272K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
McVeigh family
At the Pendleton, New York, home where McVeigh grew up, his father, William, and sister, Jennifer, watched the verdict with Lou Michel, a family friend and reporter for The Buffalo News.
About two hours after the verdict was announced, Michel emerged and read the following statement, attributed to the family:
"Even though the jury has found Tim guilty, we still love him very much and intend to stand by him no matter what happens. ... We would like to ask everyone to pray for Tim in this difficult time."
Courtroom atmosphere
The courtroom atmosphere was tense as the jurors returned with their verdict, according to CNN national correspondent Tony Clark, who watched in the courtroom. None of the jurors looked at McVeigh, who watched them with his chin resting on hands clasped together.
McVeigh smiled a little as he walked in and shook hands with his attorneys, but there was an apparent sense of foreboding among the defense team while prosecutors smiled and greeted victims' family members, Clark said.
The defendant looked at the judge but appeared detached as the verdict on each count was read. A few jurors cast glances at him. Some family members of victims wiped tears from their eyes.
McVeigh then thanked his attorneys, but showed no emotion as he was escorted from the courtroom by three federal marshals. Jones later described his client's spirits as being "fine."
'They didn't prove it'
James Nichols, brother of alleged co-conspirator Terry Nichols, said prosecutors did not prove their case against McVeigh, and the verdicts were a result of a government conspiracy. (349K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
"This is based on emotion. Those jurors had a lot of pressure on them ... and public pressure changes people's minds," James Nichols said in an interview at home in Decker, Michigan.
Asked whether he thought McVeigh had nothing to do with the case, Nichols replied, "I didn't say that ... but they didn't prove it."
Nichols, who has been subpoenaed to testify in the penalty phase, described McVeigh as "a normal, decent guy ... I trust him to this very day with anything that I have."
T H E B O M B I N G / C N N S T O R I E S / L I N K S
- Newsmaker Profiles: Timothy McVeigh
- Video Almanac: 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing
- Message Boards: McVeigh Trial
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