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Defiant McVeigh dies in silence
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EVEN in death, Timothy McVeigh remains an enigma, six years after perpetrating the worst terrorist attack on US soil.
In a chilling scene, the self-styled anti-government crusader went to his death in silence, with his eyes open, in ultimate defiance of the federal government.
He made no statement, issuing instead hand-written copies of a 19th-century poem by British poet William Ernest Henley, McVeigh thanked the gods for his "unconquerable soul" and declared, "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."
He was pronounced dead at 8.14 am EDT (12.14 GMT), becoming the first federal prisoner executed in 38 years.
In Oklahoma City, 232 survivors and victims' relatives watched a closed-circuit TV broadcast of the execution, sent from Terre Haute in a feed encrypted to guard against interception.
Some of the victims and survivors said he seemed to stare straight at them from 620 miles (1,000 kilometres) away by looking directly into the overhead TV camera in the death chamber.
McVeigh, wearing a white T-shirt, khaki pants and slip-on sneakers, looked pale as he awaited death. His hair was cropped short. A light gray sheet was pulled up tightly to his chest as he lay strapped on the gurney.
He made eye contact with his four personal witnesses, then with the 10 media witnesses, then squinted toward the tinted window shielding the 10 victims' witnesses from his view.
After that, McVeigh rested his shaved head and stared straight up, seeming to concentrate on the closed-circuit camera beaming the execution to about 230 witnesses gathered 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away in Oklahoma City.
The lethal injection was administered to his right leg. When the first drug was delivered, he let out a couple of deep breaths, followed by a fluttery breath. His head moved back, his gaze fixed on the ceiling, and his eyes were glassy.
In a recent letter to The Buffalo News, McVeigh said his body would be released to one of his attorneys and cremated, and his ashes would be scattered in an undisclosed location.
In Oklahoma City, Jay Sawyer, who watched via TV, said: "Without saying anything, he got the final word, absolutely, his teeth were clenched, just like when they showed him coming out of that facility when he was first arrested."
Janice Smith, whose brother Lanny Scroggins died in the bombing, prayed with her children at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, then left after getting word that McVeigh was dead.
"It's over," she said. "We don't have to continue with him anymore."
McVeigh's lawyer Robert Nigh somberly reminded reporters that the government not only executed the Oklahoma City bomber, but also a decorated Gulf War veteran, a son and a brother. He said there was "nothing reasonable or moral about what we did today".
"If there is anything good that can come from the execution of Tim Mcveigh, it may be to help us realize sooner that we simply cannot do this anymore," Nigh said. "I am firmly convinced that it is not a question of if we will stop. It is simply a question of when."
The day before McVeigh's execution, his attorneys said that he was sorry for those who suffered but that he didn't regret what he had done.
Defiant to the end, McVeigh had told those close to him in his final days, that he still considered himself the victor in his one-man war against a government he labelled a bully.
Kathleen Treanor, who lost her four-year-old daughter and parents-in-law, said the scene at the telecast was quiet and respectful.
Renee Findley, whose friend 41-year-old Teresa Lauderdale was killed, stood at the memorial with Lauderdale's parents, John and Gloria Taylor.
"There's some relief, but it really doesn't change anything, "Findley said. "It still hurts."
(SD-Agencies)
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