NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2001

Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Heaton mailed out a letter Jan. 17 to victims of the April 19, 1995, bombing to gauge interest in the execution, scheduled May 16 at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. The number of witnesses at federal executions is usually limited.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons will determine the number of witnesses and the arrangements for viewing the execution. One possible option is a live broadcast of the execution to a closed site in Oklahoma City.

A statement issued by the U.S. attorney's office said about 250 responses were received by the deadline Monday. "The responses indicate varying levels of interest in viewing the execution, depending on what arrangements are finalized," it said.

A summary of the responses was forwarded to the warden of the Terre Haute prison where McVeigh, 32, is being held on death row.

In addition to the 168 people killed in the bombing, more than 500 people were injured.

McVeigh was found guilty in June 1997 on charges in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and was sentenced to receive a lethal injection. He was convicted on eight counts of murder and charges of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

McVeigh recently dropped all his appeals after his requests for a new trial were turned down twice. He retained his right to request executive clemency but requested an execution date as soon as possible. He did not explain his change of mind.

Terry Nichols was also convicted on federal charges in the bombing and sentenced to life in prison. He is in an Oklahoma City jail awaiting trial on state murder charges. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against him.

The mother of a third man convicted on federal charges related to the bombing wrote the Daily Oklahoman earlier this week urging the Oklahoma City victims to forgive McVeigh.

Irene Fortier, the mother of Michael Fortier, wrote that she found it repulsive that victims were sent "invitations" to McVeigh's execution.

"I have asked myself ... 'What kind of human being could possibly find satisfaction out of watching someone die under any circumstance?' For closure? Do the people who have not forgiven Tim by now think that by watching him die, their lives will be hunky-dory again?" she wrote from Kingman, Ariz.

Michael Fortier, 32, is serving a 12-year prison term for failing to go to authorities after McVeigh told him of the bombing plans. McVeigh, Fortier and Nichols met in the U.S. Army.

"There is only one way that one can find peace of mind, and that is by forgiving," wrote Mrs. Fortier, who knows McVeigh and corresponds with him in prison.

The last civilian executed by the federal government was Victor Feguer, hanged in 1963 at Iowa State Penitentiary for murder and kidnapping.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

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