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| J. M. Berger About the Nichols Trial |
| 2004-05-27 |
| .... The Oklahoma state murder trial was more notable for what was left out than for what it revealed. If anything, the state trial was far less complex and detailed than the federal proceeding that netted Nichols life in prison. And despite early indications from the defense team regarding its strategy, in the end, the trial broke very little new ground. Nichols’ attorneys attempted to introduce evidence of a broader conspiracy to bomb the Alfred E. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, but the defense was thwarted by the trial judge. In the end, the case came down to a simplistic argument in which both defense and prosecution took opposite extremes. The prosecution argued that Nichols was not only involved in the bombing but suggested he was its mastermind, a conclusion that came off as a significant stretch, based on the known evidence. The defense argued, conversely, that Nichols had nothing at all to do with the bombing, an equally dubious argument. "He’s not involved. He’s never been involved," attorney Brian Hermanson said in his closing arguments. .... Some of those following the case had hoped that the trial would shed light on longstanding claims that Middle Eastern terrorists were involved in the Oklahoma City bombing. However, there was no motivation for either side to raise such allegations. .... The latest prosecution of Nichols had only one purpose, winning a death sentence against Nichols to satisfy a perceived anger among the state’s population and victims of the bombing. The state had no motivation to cut a plea deal with Nichols, which would only have created additional defendants and an even more difficult criminal prosecution. Furthermore, any cooperation with al Qaeda or other foreign terrorists would open a can of worms that would expose Nichols to possible incarceration and interrogation as an enemy combatant, and possibly set up new federal criminal charges, incurring further risk of a death penalty. .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |