I'll begin just with this article that states a few of the facts about the bombing that took place in Oklahoma City and plainly shows that Tim McVeigh was not "the only living witness" to this event. To compare McVeigh to Oswald is like saying an apple and a watermelon are the same because they are both fruit. Also please note that Tim McVeigh was held in custody for a period of years, not days or weeks or months. In that period of time no new or useful information was gleaned from his existance behind bars. More to follow...

Respectfully,
Doc



DENVER (CNN) -- Nearly six months after a jury found him
guilty for his part in the 1995 bombing of a federal building in
Oklahoma City, Terry Nichols was sentenced by a federal judge
to spend the rest of his life in prison. The bombing killed 168
people and injured more than 500 others.

U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch imposed the sentence of life
without parole -- as called for in federal sentencing guidelines --
for Nichols' conviction in December on charges of conspiring,
along with Timothy McVeigh, to blow up the building with a truck
bomb.

"What he did was participate with others in a conspiracy that
would seek to destroy all the things that the Constitution protects,"
Matsch said. "He has been proven to be an enemy of the
Constitution."

In addition, Nichols, 43, was given a 48-year sentence for his
convictions on eight counts of involuntary manslaughter, to be
served concurrently. He was also ordered to pay the government
$14 million for the damage caused to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building.

Nichols declines to make
statement

Given the opportunity to make a
statement before sentencing,
Nichols declined. He shook hands
with some of his attorneys and
hugged others before being led
from the courtroom.

Matsch had said previously he would be inclined to impose a
lesser sentence if Nichols disclosed new information about the
April 19, 1995, bombing. But defense attorneys said they were
reluctant to have Nichols make any statements because he still
faces state murder charges in Oklahoma, where prosecutors have
vowed to seek the death penalty.

Lead prosecutor Larry Mackey said he was "grateful" for the
sentence.

"Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols were wrong about America.
They could launch a violent, ugly, horrifically horrible act against
innocent people, but their plot would fail," Mackey said. "They
have been defeated."

McVeigh, an Army buddy of Nichols' whom prosecutors say was
the mastermind behind the bombing, was convicted on murder and
conspiracy charges by a different jury and sentenced to death.

Defense vows to appeal

Defense attorney Michael Tigar said that "just as we have
disagreed with many of the judge's rulings, we disagreed with what
happened today." He vowed to appeal.

"We are prepared to be in this case all the way to the vindication
of Terry Nichols," he said.

At the start of Thursday's sentencing hearing, the defense filed a
request for a new trial, contending that jury deliberations were
tainted because jurors worked in small groups, rather than
discussing the case en masse. The motion was based on interviews
with jurors that were published Sunday in a Denver newspaper,
the Rocky Mountain News.

Matsch gave prosecutors a week to respond to the motion but
refused to delay sentencing.

Survivors, victims' relatives make appeals

Before the sentence was passed, survivors of the worst terrorist
attack ever on U.S. soil and relatives of those who died were
allowed to make statements to the court. Nichols sat still with his
hands clasped in front of his face and appeared to be dry-eyed
throughout.

"I'm here to pray the court will not show leniency, please, and
assess the greatest sentence that can be given by law," said
survivor Patti Hall.

Rudy Guzman, whose brother, Randy, was killed, said, "Your
honor, please give Terry Nichols the stiffest punishment you can
impose. ... Please keep him locked up so he'll never hurt anyone
again."

"This bombing not only has affected my family but hundreds of
thousands of people. Our family alone has received 600,000
sympathy cards," said Sandy Battreall, whose brother,
46-year-old Harley Cottingham Jr., died in the bombing.

Marsha Kight, whose 23-year-old daughter, Frankie Merrell, was
killed in the blast, did not specify what penalty she thought Nichols
deserved. But she told Matsch, "Our sentence from this tragedy is
life."

"There's no time off for good behavior for all the sorrow we have
been through," she said.

"It's the hardest thing a mother will ever have to do is bury a child,"
Kight said. "If I had one wish in the world, it would be that no one
would ever again have to go through what I have endured."

Defense had asked for 7-year sentence

Nichols was convicted in December of conspiracy and eight
counts of involuntary manslaughter. The jury acquitted him of
murder and weapons-related charges. The panel failed to agree on
a sentence, which is why the task fell to Matsch.

Prosecutors had asked Matsch to abide by the guidelines and
sentence Nichols to life in prison. Under federal law, Matsch could
not impose the death penalty. Nichols' attorneys recommended a
maximum term of seven years, insisting their client was building "a
life, not a bomb."

Nichols has said nothing publicly since his arrest shortly after the
bombing. He expressed remorse in a letter written to Matsch after
the trial ended last year.

Brother: Nichols 'upset'

Nichols' brother, James, from his farm in Michigan, said he had
talked to Terry Nichols before the sentencing hearing.

"He's mad. He's upset," James Nichols said. "Because he's
innocent. He's been convicted of a crime he didn't commit."

Nichols' ex-wife, Lana Padilla, and their teen-age son, Josh, were
in the Denver courtroom Thursday and wept after the life sentence
was pronounced. His current wife, Marife, and their two children
were not there. They have moved to the Philippines.

Nichols' life sentence came a week after another Army colleague,
Michael Fortier, who gave crucial testimony for the prosecution in
both trials, was given a 12-year prison sentence. He admitted
knowing about the bombing plot but did not alert authorities.

Correspondent Tony Clark andReuters contributed to this
report.