dictionary

Oklahoma governor: 'Don't worry' about execution delay

"This individual (McVeigh) will not be on this planet mocking us," says Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (CNN) - Oklahoma's governor urged patience Saturday after Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's execution was delayed for a month.

"This individual will not be on this planet mocking us, lecturing us, and heckling us and making fun of our children that he murdered. Don't worry," Gov. Frank Keating told CNN.

Attorney General John Ashcroft delayed McVeigh's execution Friday after learning that FBI officials failed to turn over about 3,000 pages of documents to lawyers in the case.

The explosion at Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah federal building on April 19, 1995, killed 168 people. McVeigh has publicly admitted to carrying out the attack.

WHAT THE FBI WITHHELD: • About 3,100 pages of documents and pieces of evidence including "Form 302" documents that give the essence of interviews that FBI agents conducted following the Oklahoma City bombing. Many of the documents deal with the search for "John Doe No. 2." THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY: • The Justice Department says it does not believe the documents have "material bearing" on the case, but McVeigh attorney Nathan Chambers called the discovery "a cause for great concern." POSSIBLE REMEDIES: • The evidence could be grounds for an appeal, but McVeigh's attorneys cannot file one without his consent because he has not been proven to be mentally incompetent. MORE DETAILS

His execution is now set for June 11 at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. The delay upset some families of the bombing victims and survivors of the attack, the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.

McVeigh has previously waived all appeals in the case, saying he preferred to die rather than spend his life in prison. Attorney Robert Nigh met with McVeigh on Friday and afterward said McVeigh is considering his options and might decide to fight his execution.

Paul Howell, whose son was killed in the bombing, said it was "real difficult" to prepare for the execution -- "and then they turn around and they kick you in the hind end."

"You've got to just sit back and relax a little bit more and just get re-prepared for it again," Howell said.

Added bombing survivor Paul Heath: "It's been an emotional roller coaster for everybody." But he said a delay was all right "until everything is cleared up."

Latest developments:

• It was only in late April that it became clear the documents had never been turned over to lawyers for the prosecution or the defense, an FBI official said -- and FBI Director Louis Freeh was not notified until this week.

The FBI documents included summaries of interviews and physical evidence, such as photographs, written correspondence and tapes.

Archivists began compiling information about the bombing last December, the FBI official told CNN. At least one field office suspected as early as January that some documents in the McVeigh case had not been entered into the agency's database system.

By March, a cross-check of documents with a central database confirmed those suspicions and showed that some documents had never been entered into the database, the source said. (Full story)

VIDEO CNN's Wolf Blitzer reports on what the McVeigh execution delay may mean for McVeigh and Nichols (May 11) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) McVeigh lawyer Robert Nigh says his client will evaluate new information to decide whether he now wants fo fight execuition Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)  DOCUMENT FBI documents from special agent in charge (FindLaw) (PDF format) Documents in PDF format require Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™ for viewing.  ALSO • Keating: 'How can there be anything wrong?' • Previous FBI controversies • Newly revealed FBI documents prompt Nichols' appeal More on the McVeigh execution  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL • The Execution of Timothy McVeigh  CNN ACCESS Former McVeigh attorney: McVeigh protected others McVeigh prosecutor: Newly disclosed documents won't prompt new trial  MESSAGE BOARDS McVeigh execution Death penalty

• Larry Mackey, who prosecuted McVeigh, told CNN that the FBI's discovery of undisclosed evidence in the case was "a disappointment."

Government officials say the documents are a small fraction of the millions of pages of evidence collected against McVeigh in the bombing, and nothing in the files is likely to exonerate him.

"This was the largest criminal investigation ever undertaken by the FBI," Mackey said. "So the prospect that a tiny fraction -- and indeed that is all this is -- was lately discovered, it's not implausible. But nonetheless, it is important for them to have time to review it."

• Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the College of William and Mary, said the documents are unlikely to raise any doubts about McVeigh's guilt. But the McVeigh case could raise questions about other, less prominent death-penalty cases, he said.

"This was an incredibly high-profile case -- one could not even imagine a more high-profile case -- and look at the fact that we had this major screw-up," Gerhardt said. "What concerns me most is not ultimately about the justice in this case, but what happens in other cases when no one's looking.

"If a screw-up could happen in a big, high-profile case like this one, imagine the corners that were cut and the possible screw-ups that can occur in a case where no one is watching," he said.

• McVeigh's convicted co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, plans to appeal his conviction and life sentence to the U.S. Supreme Court following the FBI revelations, his lawyer, Michael Tigar, told CNN.

"This is what the FBI does -- they lie to the prosecutors. We've caught them doing it again and again and again," Tigar said.

"Terry Nichols was acquitted of most of the charges against him. He's got a real defense here, and this could be the thing that makes the difference," Tigar added. (Full story)

A sign for the 168 victims of the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing hangs on the fence at the west end of the Oklahoma City National Memorial center Saturday

• The congressional committee with oversight over the FBI sent a letter last month to Freeh saying it is "concerned that the FBI has information technology systems that are slow, unreliable and obsolete -- systems that are unable to address the Bureau's critical needs."

The House Judiciary Committee letter, which was provided to CNN, asks Freeh to give an evaluation of the problems "plaguing" the bureau's computer system and an assessment of what can be done to fix them.

FBI spokesman John Collingwood on Saturday acknowledged that the bureau has problems with its record system.

"There is complete agreement within the bureau, the Department of Justice, the administration and Congress that the FBI's automated record system is antiquated and based on obsolete technology," Collingwood said.

The FBI has taken steps with congressional authorization to address the bureau's computer problems, Collingwood said, but there remains "a total lack of internal confidence and a lack of ability to do basic data searches." (Full story)

Attorney says developments might cause McVeigh to fight execution
May 11, 2001
McVeigh execution witness list climbs to 300
May 2, 2001
Oklahoma City remembers
April 19, 2001
U.S. wants McVeigh webcast lawsuit dismissed
April 12, 2001
Bill Press: McVeigh to die on television
April 13, 2001
Ashcroft OKs closed TV feed of McVeigh execution
April 11, 2001
FBI: McVeigh knew children would be killed in OKC blast
March 29, 2001
McVeigh autopsy deal says no 'invasive procedure'
March 18, 2001
McVeigh scheduled to die by lethal injection May 16
January 16, 2001
Judge says McVeigh can drop appeals
December 28, 2000

Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Department of Justice
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Oklahoma State Government
Death Penalty Information Center
US Federal Bureau of Prisons

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.