|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback |  |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
Advisory jury rules government not at fault in Branch Davidian raid
WACO, Texas (CNN) -- A five-member advisory jury on Friday found the federal government was not to blame in the deaths of some 80 Branch Davidians in the 1993 siege of the religious sect's compound outside Waco. The verdict came in a $675 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the surviving sect members and family members of those who died. The plaintiffs alleged that the government was liable for the deaths because it used excessive force during a February 1993 raid on the compound, which precipitated a 51-day standoff between the FBI and Branch Davidians. The stanodoff came to a fiery end in April 1993.
The government argued throughout the trial that it was suicidal Branch Davidians, led by their leader David Koresh, who set fire to the compound to avoid surrendering to the government's authority. The jury recommended a verdict. It is up to U.S. District Judge Walter Smith to make the final decision. Government attorneys introduced as evidence five burned weapons recovered at the Branch Davidian compound called Mount Carmel, outside Waco. About 300 machine guns, assault rifles and other high-powered firearms were recovered at the site in 1993. The lawsuit went to trial June 19, more than seven years after the seige ended. About 80 Branch Davidians died from either fire or gunshots on the final day of the standoff, including Koresh and 17 children. Six members of the apocalyptic Christian sect and four agents also were killed on February 28, 1993, during the raid that prompted the standoff. The plaintiffs contended that the government helped set three fires that engulfed the compound at the end of the siege. The government maintained that the Branch Davidians started the fires. The plaintiffs also said the agents fired indiscriminately into the building during the February raid. The government said the agents were ambushed by heavily armed sect members and were defending themselves. The case once again shines the spotlight on the government's actions during the raid and standoff that made headlines around the world and led to congressional inquiries. Though the inquiries cleared the government of wrongdoing, the Waco issue raised concerns about whether the government goes too far to quell dissenting voices. Smith, in a fairly unusual move, empaneled a five-member jury to help him during the trial. Smith could take until August to make his final decision. The background in briefOn February 28, 1993, agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms went to Mount Carmel to investigate reports that the sect was hoarding weapons. They encountered stiff gunfire. Four agents and six Davidians were killed. The standoff began, with the FBI taking over. A number of other aspects of the case are also in dispute. For instance, the families allege that the government at times initiated the shooting exchanges, pointing to flashes on a surveillance tape as proof of gunfire from the agents. The government argues those flashes were caused by sunlight glinting off debris in the compound. The five-member jury was asked to answer four questions:
1. Did Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents use excessive force? The jury found that the agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were not to blame for sparking the standoff with a February 28, 1993, raid on the Branch Davidian compound and that FBI agents were not guilty of starting or contributing the fatal fire on April 19, 1993. RELATED STORIES: Closing arguments under way in Branch Davidian trial RELATED SITES: Federal Bureau of Investigation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back to the top |
© 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. |
![[CNN Money]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/fn.logo.newsnet.gif){kind=logo}
![[SI.com]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/si.logo.gif){kind=logo}
(
CNN's Tony Clark has highlights of the testimony
