Opening Statements To Focus On Bombing’s Terror Government Will Call Upon Survivors, Rescuers To Describe Ordeal
Seeking to stir jurors’ emotions early, prosecutors intend to open their case against Timothy McVeigh today by calling Oklahoma City bombing survivors and rescuers to describe their terrifying ordeal.
Opening statements from both sides are expected to last at least half a day, after which prosecutors will put on their first witnesses.
“The focus will be on the moment of the bombing,” a source familiar with the government’s strategy told The Associated Press. “The first witnesses will be victims and law enforcement types.”
Prosecutors also plan to play dramatic news videotape of the frantic aftermath of the April 19, 1995, bombing that blew apart Oklahoma City’s nine-story federal building, killing 168 people - including 19 children.
“It makes sense to begin in that way,” said University of Colorado law professor William Pizzi, a former federal prosecutor. “It is an attention-grabber. It’s a crime of singular magnitude in our history. This is what this case is really about.”
Among the early witnesses will be Lou Klaver, an attorney who can authenticate a chilling audiotape of the explosion, another source told the AP. Klaver was recording a meeting at a building across the street when the bomb went off at 9:02 a.m.
The emotional atmosphere in the courtroom will be heightened by the presence of the 12 or more victims who will be seated in the audience, in partial view of the jury. Previously, only one or two victims have attended the laborious jury selection process.
McVeigh, who turned 29 on Wednesday, could get the death penalty if convicted of murder and conspiracy in the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.
Prosecutors intend to show that McVeigh embraced a culture of hate, racism and anti-government fervor, and bombed the building in retaliation for the fiery government siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas.
Presenting the case for the prosecution will be Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Hartzler, who has yet to speak with jurors except to say “good morning” during jury selection.
McVeigh attorney Stephen Jones, who handled most of the questioning of jury candidates, will present the defense’s opening statement.
Jurors were given Wednesday off to get their affairs in order for a trial that could last four months or more.
The anonymous panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected on Tuesday after three weeks of questioning, but U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch scrambled their identifying numbers so it was impossible to say for sure who ended up on the jury.
Meantime, the judge scheduled one session for Wednesday, an in-chambers hearing on a defense complaint about one of the prosecution’s witnesses.
It was not clear why the hearing was private. The motion was filed under seal, and attorneys and court officials are under a gag order.
In a related development, Jones filed a motion Wednesday asking Matsch to lift his gag order prohibiting anyone connected with the case from commenting out of court.
Jones said he’s “extremely uncomfortable with the prospect of being prevented from making legitimate comment when necessary to safeguard Mr. McVeigh’s rights.”
In another development, attorneys for news organizations covering the trial filed a motion to challenge the judge’s provisions for secrecy during the trial.
Media representatives are objecting to the gag order, the judge’s decision to seat an anonymous jury, and the construction of a wall that shields the jurors’ faces from reporters and many of the spectators.