Oklahoma bombing judge
refuses to step down

Trial moved to nearby town

September 14, 1995
Web posted at: 9:40 p.m. EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (CNN) -- Although both prosecutors and defense attorneys want him off the case, U.S. District Judge Wayne Alley said Thursday he will preside over the Oklahoma City bombing trial.

The judge ruled with the prosecution, moving the trial 90 miles away to Lawton, Oklahoma. It was not far enough for defense attorneys, who want the trial moved out of state.

The bomb attack last April 19 led to 169 deaths. The U.S. courthouse is across the street from the former site of the Murrah Federal Building, which was devastated in the attack and later leveled.

Alley said he agrees with the defense that the federal courthouse in Oklahoma City is too close to the bomb site. Part of the courthouse front entrance is still boarded up as a result of bomb damage. Alley said jury selection in the city would be "chancy" at best due to the emotion surrounding the case.

Alley said Lawton is close enough to be convenient for witnesses and for residents of the Oklahoma City area who want to attend the trial.

"It is far enough to provide a trial setting appropriate for detached and dispassionate deliberation," he said.

Lawton is the home of Fort Sill. It is likely defendants Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols would be kept in the military stockade there.

McVeigh's attorney, Stephen Jones, accused Alley of making a "pre-emptive strike" by moving the trial before the defense has filed for a change of venue. The deadline for filing the motion is next month. Alley's decision Thursday does not preclude the defense from asking for a new change of venue.

"This case could have been an excellent opportunity to increase respect for the law, but instead it's turned into a spectacle of Oklahoma boomerism and boosterism," Jones said.

Jones, Nichols' attorney Mike Tigar, and the prosecution all had filed motions for Alley to recuse himself, but the prosecution wanted to keep the trial in Oklahoma.

Jones has said his client cannot receive a fair trial in Oklahoma. (230k AIFF sound) Alley earlier issued a statement saying he is not biased because he was not in the courthouse when the bombing occurred and he did not lose any relatives or friends in the attack. A member of his staff was injured, but not seriously.

Feedback

• Send us your comments - Selected responses are posted daily.

| CONTENTS | SEARCH | CNN HOME PAGE | MAIN OKLAHOMA CITY PAGE |

---

Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.