Oklahoma City bomber nears execution

Today, a judge is expected to set an execution date for convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.\nIf no further appeals are filed, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch, who presided over his sentencing and granted McVeigh's request to waive his right to appeal and expedite his execution, will be rendering the execution date, which could happen within 60 days. \nMcVeigh, 32, who is serving his sentence at a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute will be the first federal inmate to die in a federal prison in more than 35 years. He was convicted of murder for the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.\nHis ex-Army mate, Terry Nichols, the man who was found guilty of detonating the truck bomb that blew apart the nine-story structure, was sentenced to death in a separate federal trial. He was convicted of eight counts of capital murder, conspiracy and using a weapon of mass destruction to destroy federal property. \nCongress approved capital punishment for drug-related murders in 1974. It was later expanded to encompass 40 crimes. The federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988. \nAccording to the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been 340 federal executions in U.S. history. \nCapital punishment has come under fire after a recent study that revealed death sentences and executions are disproportionately, even wrongly, rendered to minorities and innocent people. Federal death row inmate Juan Garza was scheduled to die Dec. 12, but President Bill Clinton ordered a stay of execution for at least six months.\n"The reason Congress put the death penalty back into place is because of a perceived sentiment that the public wants the death penalty," said law professor Craig Bradley. "I think that is beginning to sway now. People who are in favor of the death penalty aren't in favor of executing innocent people."\nAssociate professor and capital punishment expert Marla Sandys echoed Bradley's sentiment and said the wave against the death penalty is strengthening because death row inmates continue to be proved innocent.\nAlthough McVeigh was granted the right to stop appealing, it has been rumored that he is interested in clemency, which would mean President-elect George W. Bush would have to pardon him. Sandys said she is skeptical that will happen.\n"Do I anticipate President-elect Bush will grant clemency?" she asked. "I doubt it. While President Clinton is no abolitionist, I would have to believe he's more sympathetic than President-elect Bush."\nSandys said she doubts McVeigh's sentence will be lessened to a life term.\nThe law says death row inmates may waive their right to appeals, if the decision is made in "a knowing, intelligent waiver." Federal death row inmates receive a 60-day notice before their execution date, and she expects McVeigh's date should be set within the time frame. \n"He controls his destiny as long as he is mentally competent," Bradley said. "If he doesn't want to keep filing appeals, he doesn't have to"