Closed-Circuit TV Weighed for Execution of McVeigh
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Federal officials are considering a closed-circuit telecast of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy J. McVeigh’s execution because of the large number of victims and relatives who might want to watch him die.
McVeigh is scheduled to die by injection May 16 at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., for blowing up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995, killing 168 people and injuring more than 500.
Eight seats at the prison are open for victims to witness the execution, and the government is sending out letters to 1,100 people asking if they want to attend.
The number of potential witnesses dwarfs those in other cases, and all options are being considered, including closed-circuit television, federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Dan Dunne said.
Eight bombing survivors have asked attorney Karen Howick of Oklahoma City to go to court if necessary to get the closed-circuit telecast. Howick said there is a good chance the government will agree if enough victims are interested.
She said she knows of no execution in the U.S. that was shown over closed-circuit television, but no law forbids it.
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