Jury deadlocked in Terry Nichols trial just down the road, no death penalt

[mike1963]

apparently. So we Okies got to waste millions on a revenge trial of a guy who was already in the pokey for life.
:grr:
Sorry no link, being announced on local Tulsa TV

[JayS]

1. I'm sorry that y'all had to go through all that, regardless of the...

...outcome. I know this is going to be terribly upsetting to the families that lost loved ones.

After following the case somewhat these last few weeks I can almost see how the jury deadlocked. The governments case was just so screwed up! I hope the truth comes out about the missing security tapes so maybe the federal government will pay to try him again.

[mike1963]

2. I guess we'll see. Some more info: state law gives the death penalty

-only- on jury recommendation (I actually never knew this)...the judge can't give it out without having the jury's approval. And I don't really know or care very much whether he was highly or marginally involved, this whole fiasco was just a political ploy by a couple of asshole prosecutors who wanted a notch on their gun butts. :grr:

[JayS]

6. Wasn't one of your Senators or Representatives pushing...

...for the trial in 2002? I think he lost his grandkids in the bombing. He had some rather disturbing material that he wanted answers on. I still can't believe that the government was able to walk away so easily on the question of the tapes.

The judges are no longer allowed to give the death penalty in any state, if memory serves me correctly.

The NPR audio at this site is interesting. The one about the secret service and the security tapes is especially interesting. I think it is the one called "judge won't dismiss Nichols' case."

http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=us&cat=oklahoma_city_bombing

[Cooley Hurd]

3. Good...

...life (without parole) in prison is more apt, given the horrendous crime he committed. Even in his case, I'm still vehemently anti-death penalty...

[DemoTex]

4. Very, very interesting K.

I thought the death penalty was a "slam-dunk" in Oklahoma. What's wrong with the case?

[Tellurian]

5. Apparently, the jury is having trouble agreeing he committed the crime..

the government is notorious for assigning blame to innocent people to hasten closure of a crime. It keeps people happy.

[JayS]

7. The government's case never did pass the smell test, both...

...nine years ago and today. It always sounded like a coverup of a screwup right at election time.

There is some good coverage of the case at the site below. Listen to the NPR audio called "judge won't dismiss Nichols' case." I think that is the one about the secret service and the missing security video. Scary!

http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=us&cat=oklahoma_city_bombing

[Tellurian]

10. Just reading the link you provided.. thanks btw..

Nichols recurrent trials for the death penalty seem to be in anomaly. Could the fact that Terry Nichols lives, prove to be more problematic to the SS and fbi agencies, than knowing if he is truly innocent or guilty of the accused crimes?

[JayS]

12. "prove to be more problematic to the SS and fbi"

I think it could be. I am sure that the general public will never raise a fuss about the missing evidence but some politicians may make a case of it. I am sure that Nichols is guilty but there is no way that there were not others involved. The defense made fools of the government so I am sure that the jury was left wondering just what was going on.

If you get a chance, listen to the NPR audio. It'll make your hair stand on end. Hearing what the secret service agent wrote about the suspects (note plural) that got out of the Ryder truck, the woman waving them into the parking space, and the notation that the truck blew up three minutes and six seconds after it was parked was just plain bizarre. Hearing the secret service agent, when asked on the witness stand about what he wrote that day, answer that he did not know why he wrote what he did made me quit chuckling over those conspiracy sites.

[DemoTex]

8. But .. but .. but. They convicted him.

Were there doubts in that decision to convict?

[JayS]

13. It sounds like there were doubts to convict that spilled over...

...into the punishment phase of the trial.



From: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20040612/ap_on_re_us/nichols_trial_38

The deadlock, announced after Nichols' jury deliberated his sentence for about 19 1/2 hours over three days, was a blow to state prosecutors and victims' family members who said death was the appropriate punishment for the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

*SNIP*

Nichols, 49, escaped death row after a federal trial in 1997 in which he was acquitted of murder but convicted of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of eight federal law enforcement officers.


A federal jury deliberated 13 1/2 hours over two days before deadlocking over whether Nichols should be given a death sentence or a life term. U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch then sentenced Nichols to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

[0007]

9. I thought Terry was a gonner, guess the defense made sense

to the folks on the jury.

[TexasMexican]

11. Terry was convicted at this trial...

this was the sentancing phase.

Apparently some people in the jury decided that he didnt deserve to die for this crime. I disagree.

[struggle4progress]

14. Nichols' Lawyer: U.S. Torn by Executions

An Oklahoma jury's inability to decide whether to send bombing conspirator Terry Nichols to death row may reflect wider misgivings about the death penalty, his defense attorneys say.

Oklahoma led the nation in executions three years ago and has one of the highest death row populations in the nation. But the jury that convicted Nichols on 161 counts of first-degree murder for the bombing deadlocked on whether to sentence him to death.
<snip>

It took Nichols' 12-member state jury just five hours to find him guilty of murder May 26, but jurors deliberated over his punishment for 19 hours over three days before concluding on Friday they could not agree on a penalty.
<snip>

Jurors who favored the death penalty said those who opposed it cited Nichols' jailhouse conversion to Christianity and believed he might be able to help other prisoners and his three children.
<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4201197,00.html

[JayS]

15. I don't think this case is a good indicator of how the public...

...feels about the death penalty. Good behavior in prison on the part of Nichols still doesn't outweigh the suspicions cast on the government's case.