Nichols gets life for Oklahoma bombing
June 4, 1998
Web posted at: 6:21 p.m. EDT (2221 GMT)
DENVER (CNN) -- Convicted co-conspirator Terry Nichols was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people and injured more than 500 others.
U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch imposed the sentence.
Nichols has said nothing publicly since his arrest shortly
after the bombing. He expressed remorse in a letter written
to Matsch after the trial ended last year.
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Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building after April 19, 1995, bombing
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Nichols was convicted in December of conspiracy and eight
counts of involuntary manslaughter. The jury acquitted him
of murder and weapons-related charges. The panel failed to
agree on a sentence, which is why the task fell to Matsch.
Prosecutors had asked Matsch to abide by the guidelines, and
sentence Nichols to life in prison. Under federal law,
Matsch could not impose the death penalty.
Nichols' attorneys recommended a maximum term of seven
years, insisting their client was building "a life, not a
bomb."
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Nichols' son Joshua will attend the sentencing
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Nichols' former U.S. Army buddy Timothy McVeigh was convicted as the mastermind of the bombing by a separate jury last year. McVeigh was sentenced to death.
Another Army colleague, Michael Fortier, who gave crucial
testimony in both trials, was given a 12-year prison sentence
last week for failing to alert authorities before the bombing
and other charges.
Correspondent Tony Clark, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
T H E N I C H O L S T R I A L /
T H E M c V E I G H T R I A L
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
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