Dateline: 05/31/01
Updated: 06/01/01

Accusing the FBI of concealing even more evidence that might have had a bearing on his trial, convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh has officially requested a delay of his June 11 execution. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch has set a hearing on the request for Wednesday, June 6.

Quoted in a Reuters news report of May 31, defense attorney Rob Nigh told reporters, "This was not easy for Mr. McVeigh. He had prepared to die and he was ready to die on May 16." 

McVeigh had previously indicated to his attorneys that he preferred death to life in prison with no possibility of release.

According to his attorneys, McVeigh now feels the FBI and Justice Department should be held liable for their failure to turn over all documents related to the investigation of the crime. "He is convinced ... that the Department of Justice and the FBI will not otherwise be held to account unless he takes this action," Nigh told reporters.

Declaring that none of the documents in question created any doubt as to McVeigh's guilt or in any way pointed to his innocence, Attorney General John Ashcroft quickly opposed granting a stay.

McVeigh's attorneys stated that in reviewing the thousands of documents recently turned over by the FBI after the trial, they found reason to believe that additional evidence may remain undisclosed by the government.

In addition, say McVeigh's lawyers, they have discovered "credible evidence" that McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the only other person convicted for the bombing, acted as part of a larger group of conspirators.

Nichols was convicted of conspiracy in federal court of and sentenced to life in prison. He also faces a state trial for murder, a charge for which he could face the death penalty.

The FBI has denied the existence of still undisclosed evidence or of any credible evidence establishing the possibility of a larger conspiracy.

The 40-page request for a stay of indeterminate length was filed with U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch, the judge who presided over McVeigh's trial.

Attorney General Ashcroft postponed McVeigh's original execution date of May 16 until June 11 after the undisclosed FBI documents were reported.

While McVeigh has never admitted his guilt, he has repeatedly stated that the Oklahoma City bombing represented a form of retaliation against the government for the FBI's 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian religious compound in Waco, Texas, and for the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident.

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