Oklahoma City Bombing Jury Gets Weekend Off

Weary jurors in the second Oklahoma City bombing trial ended a fourth day of deliberations without a verdict Friday, and the judge gave them the weekend off for “a little time out.”

The panel in the trial of Terry Nichols has so far deliberated 25 hours, surpassing the 23-1/2 hours it took for a jury to convict Timothy McVeigh of identical murder and conspiracy charges. He was later sentenced to death.

After surveying the tired faces and drooped shoulders from the Nichols jury at the end of a shortened day of deliberations Friday, U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch granted their request for a weekend break.

“We want you to have some time off. Indeed, sometimes, like in any other job, it’s good to get away from our fellow workers for awhile,” Matsch said, drawing nervous laughter from the jurors.

“I don’t mean to suggest anything by that,” he said. “You probably all would benefit from a little time out.”

Nichols, 42, could be sentenced to death if convicted in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that killed 168 people.

As the Nichols deliberations drag on, McVeigh has begun to speak out.

In a letter Friday in The Dallas Morning News, he wrote: “Because of the intense public pressure and demand for my blood, I do not see an appeals court ruling in my favor.

“I have no fear of execution. If anything, death by execution is much more predictable than normal life or combat - because I at least know when and how I’m checking out.”