The Oklahoma bomber, Timothy McVeigh, yesterday was denied further stay of execution by a federal court in Denver following an application from his lawyers for more time to study 4,000 pages of evidence recently revealed by the FBI.
McVeigh (33), who was originally due to die on May 16th, saw his execution rescheduled to next Monday for planting the bomb that killed 168 people at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995.
US District Judge Richard Matsch, who presided over McVeigh's 1997 trial, held a hearing yesterday to consider whether McVeigh's lawyers should be allowed more time to consider whether what he described as the "shocking" failure of the FBI to produce the evidence at the trial affected its fairness. Prosecutors opposed any delay in the execution.
The judge yesterday ruled that the defence had failed to show that the documents might materially affect the verdict and that McVeigh had had the opportunity to show others were involved in the bombing but had not availed of it at the trial.
His lawyers said they were extremely disappointed and would appeal immediately. A US Circuit Court of Appeals spokesman has confirmed a panel could rule in three hours on any challenge.
McVeigh's lawyers yesterday made clear that they were not challenging the guilty verdict in his case but wanted to reopen the sentencing process.
McVeigh claimed in court papers filed on Tuesday that part of the evidence withheld by prosecutors included information that others besides McVeigh and Terry Nichols were involved in the Oklahoma City bombing conspiracy and that federal officials knew about the plot beforehand. His lawyers argue that an execution could prevent the true scope of any conspiracy from being revealed.
They claimed the government had perpetrated a fraud on the court and added: "Specifically, counsel believes that the government - at least some FBI agents - knew . . . that other people in addition to Mr McVeigh and Mr Nichols were responsible for the bombing." They said that the government knew of the other conspirators through informants and investigation and had this information before McVeigh's 1997 trial began.
Three pages of the 17-page affidavit were sealed and no names are mentioned in the unsealed pages.
Few people believe that McVeigh will be able to do more than delay the process, having since his trial confessed to the bombing, and prosecutors yesterday insisted that most of the 4,000 pages of evidence were immaterial to McVeigh's conviction and death sentence, arguing that he deserves to die for his crimes, regardless of the FBI's mistakes. The Attorney General, Mr John Ashcroft, has said he will fight any additional delays.
McVeigh abandoned all appeals last December and said he preferred to be executed than spend the rest of his life in prison without hope of release.
