McVeigh deserves right to fair trial

Timothy McVeigh said he did it.

He confessed to being responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. He admits his guilt and has begged for death.

Now, more than six years since the worst act of American terrorism, it appears that McVeigh is going to be hanging around for a while longer. Despite the fact that his attorneys have stated they don't expect to be introduced to any new evidence that is going to prove his innocence, McVeigh will likely be granted a stay of execution. This is a direct result of the boggles of the FBI.

The bureau claimed that they erroneously with held more than 4,000 documents that should have been introduced during his 1997 trial.

McVeigh doesn't have a lot of supporters. He likely will die as a result of his crimes and even those who are against capital punishment have a hard time convincing themselves that McVeigh should continue to live.

The fact is, however, that he deserves to live until all the facts have surfaced. Nobody expects McVeigh to be released from prison and the sentiment is that his death sentence will be carried out soon. But, this country should make sure that every angle of this case has been investigated prior to his death.

In this country, everyone is guaranteed the right to a fair trial. Because of the FBI, which is growing increasingly more embarrassing, McVeigh deserves, yes "deserves", to have his attorneys look over all the pertinent documents.

Depending on the importance and relevance of the mystery documents, McVeigh could even be granted a new trial.

Most likely, even a new trial will produce the same result — McVeigh will be sentenced to die.

Those who try to turn this into a capital punishment argument should save it. This is a simple case of the constitutional right that guarantees swift justice.

This case has lasted long enough and the families and friends of the victims have suffered more than they should have had to. Unfortunately, this is far from over.

The folks camping out in Terre Haute might as well get comfortable; they won’t be going anywhere for a while.

But, Americans, whose lives revolve around simple freedoms, should hope that when McVeigh is put to death, there are no unanswered questions.

McVeigh is guilty, by his own admission. And he will be punished. But Americans should hope that the justice system can do something the FBI couldn't, get it right.

Editorial board: Keith Thomas, Kurt Esposito, Jamie Teibel, Ian Clift, Anna Herkamp

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McVeigh deserves right to fair trial

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