Hello Mike,
Here is my reflection on McVeigh and below that the story on Terry in which you are quoted.
Mike, thank you so much for your help. Lou
https://buffalonews.com/2020/04/18/a-journalists-reflections-on-timothy-mcveigh-25-years-after-oklahoma-city-bombing/
A journalist's reflections on Timothy McVeigh 25 years after Oklahoma City bombing
Lou Michel at Oklahoma City National Memorial in the Field of Empty Chairs, Thursday, Feb. 27 2020. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)
By Lou Michel
Published 5:30 a.m. April 18, 2020
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Oklahoma City bomber Timothy J. McVeigh told me he did not know what he would encounter on the other side, once the chemicals from the lethal injection killed him.
But on the chance the Pendleton native had an express ticket to hell, he defiantly said he would be in the company of many generals and world leaders who murdered their opposition.
As the first and only journalist to repeatedly interview McVeigh face to face, my job was to keep him talking.
My colleague Dan Herbeck and I needed every scintilla of his thought process, no matter how outrageous, so that we could provide a window into the worst domestic terrorist in U.S. history. We were working on writing a book, “American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing.”
Time was short.
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McVeigh had a date with the executioner. He had been convicted of delivering a homemade, 7,000-pound truck bomb that killed 168 innocent people and wounded more than 800 in and around the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
Oklahoma bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh arrives at court Jan. 31, 1996, in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Pool/Liaison)
For days, I sat across from McVeigh at the “super-max” prison in Colorado and later on death row in Indiana as he methodically explained his reasoning for the bombing.
He never showed any emotions for the victims, except flashes of anger and profanity.
How dare they call him a coward for lighting the bomb’s two fuses and walking away? McVeigh repeatedly assured me that if the fuses failed to ignite the bomb, he would have returned and shot it at close range with his handgun, sealing his own fate.
It wasn’t easy sitting in a chair across from McVeigh, in a bunker-like concrete cubicle, separated by a thick sheet of Plexiglas with a circular steel vent in its center to allow for our exchange of words.
But as a journalist, it was more than merely my job.
When McVeigh had asked his father, Bill, if he knew of a journalist who could tell his story, my name was suggested.
I lived in rural Niagara County 15 minutes from Bill McVeigh’s house and would often stop to say hello, long after other reporters had lost interest. A tall man who is painfully shy, Bill and I often discussed our common love of vegetable gardening. His son’s name rarely came up.
Bill McVeigh, father of Tim McVeigh is at his home in Pendleton, Wednesday, March 4, 2020, 25 years after his son bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Tim McVeigh was executed for his crimes in 2001. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)
When Dan and I did write stories about McVeigh or his family, we remembered that they, too, were entitled to fair treatment.
McVeigh had received countless letters from journalists at much bigger newspapers than The Buffalo News, but he was unimpressed with their typed requests beneath fancy letterheads.
After Bill suggested my name, McVeigh sent me a letter asking if I would be interested in writing a book on his life.
And so began an exchange of several letters before our first set of in-person interviews.
Unlike other reporters, I wrote my letters in long hand and on cheap yellow legal pad paper. To solidify our connection, I shared details of my life with him.
I was married and had three kids. My boys and I were active in Cub Scouts. McVeigh, a survivalist, loved the outdoors and shared tips for camping out.
It was mundane yet meaningful enough to unlock the prison doors within a couple of months.
When I said I wanted to include Dan in helping write the book, I explained that there was a lot of ground to cover before the execution. Dan is a great journalist and a guy I would trust my life with.
Tim had served in the Army during the First Gulf War in Iraq and had “battle buddies” to whom he had entrusted his life.
I believe he viewed Dan as my battle buddy. In time, Dan would also sit down with McVeigh for an interview and regularly correspond in letters.
As a civilian, McVeigh was on the side of militias. The enemy was the U.S. government because of the role of federal agents at Ruby Ridge and Waco. In both those events, civilians had been killed.
It soon became clear to me that McVeigh had two sides. There was the friendly, boyish Tim who would go on about the Buffalo Bills or his love of his grandfather who taught him about guns.
But when he discussed how he carried out the bombing, he was a military tactician, hiding or lacking any compassion for those he had blown up. If anything, he took pride in what he had done.
In that prison cubicle, only a few feet away from McVeigh, I sometimes felt like I had stepped into an alternate universe. Was I really hearing this? But there I was sitting and nodding, while my soul ached.
A goose spends time in the reflecting pool as the sun sets behind the 9:03 Gate at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. The moment of destruction was 9:02. The 9:01 Gate to the east, represents the time of innocence and the 9:03 Gate to the west, represents the healing that began after the blast. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)
McVeigh enjoyed discussing his coming execution, how he was eager to be done with life and the confines of his prison cell.
I was there when McVeigh, 33, was executed at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., on June 11, 2001.
Unsure of how I should react, I smiled and sort of waved a thumbs up when he looked at me from the table on which he was strapped. Yes, that’s strange. But I knew from all the hours we had spent together that he was getting his final wish – death.
I half expected him to flash a smile, but he looked back stoically in soldier mode.
As I watched the three intravenous tubes fill with chemicals, one at time, and make their way to an unseen incision in his body beneath a white sheet, I could see the life drain out of him.
His skin turned pasty and he died with his eyes open. In the corner of his left eye, I noticed a tear.
President George W. Bush told America “justice” had been served. The execution also served as a warning to others who might be contemplating a terrorist act.
But three months later to the day, 19 terrorists linked to al-Qaida flew airplanes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. A fourth plane almost reached the nation’s capital, but for the bravery of passengers who overpowered terrorists on board. That plane crashed in a remote Pennsylvania field, killing everyone.
Many people at the World Trade Center and Pentagon survived.
There were also many survivors in Oklahoma City and their stories were a crucial part of the book Dan and I were writing.
It hardly seems as if 25 years has passed since the bombing.
Before the coronavirus hit, I spent six days in Oklahoma City. The editors of The News sent me and photographer Sharon Cantillon there to report in words and images the legacy of the bombing.
I can tell you Oklahomans have overcome the horror inflicted by McVeigh.
To me, Oklahoma City is the southwest city of good neighbors. There are new buildings everywhere; its population since the bombing has grown from 400,000 to 650,000.
Most importantly, the site where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once stood is home to the National Memorial and Museum. It symbolizes good triumphing over evil. It’s also a patch of heaven.
On a stretch of what once was the pavement of N.W. Fifth Street, where McVeigh parked his truck bomb, is a long reflecting pool. On clear days, it mirrors the blue sky. Beside the pool is the Field of Chairs, one for each of the 168 innocent victims who never had the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones.
The Field of Empty Chairs are illuminated at night at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is a moving tribute to those who lost their lives in the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, and also to survivors and first responders. The field of Empty Chairs is a somber reminder of those who died. The field occupies the footprint of what was the Murrah Federal Building that was bombed. Arranged in nine rows representing the floor they worked on, are 168 chairs remembering those who died. Each chair is etched with the name of a person killed. The 19 smaller chairs represent children. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)
On the other side of the pool grows the “Survivor Tree,” an American elm, that miraculously withstood the withering blast.
Sharon and I kept returning to the memorial after interviewing survivors and relatives of the dead. Sharon wanted to capture that perfect image of hope mingled with sorrow. She succeeded many times over.
Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum: A solemn remembrance
But I believe something else was happening. The frequent returns were inspired by the whispers of our souls, which sought the serenity so abundant at this precious place.
I imagined those lost in the bombing pouring down grace upon the hallowed ground.
At other times, I thought of how some of those I interviewed had interviewed me, asking what McVeigh was like.
Did he say he knew there was a day care in the building?
Some wondered, out of genuine sympathy, how his father was doing.
I answered the questions. I understood I provided them with a connection to the man who had caused them so much pain.
Just as I had let McVeigh plunge deep into my psyche to absorb who he was, I opened myself to their curiosity.
And at the memorial, I imagined myself once again speaking with McVeigh:
Do you see this place? Do you feel its goodness? Did you hear what some of the folks I interviewed said about you?
They forgave you. Or, they rarely ever give you a thought. They spoke about the power of faith and a heaven that is far better than this mortal world.
Do you know what Kari Watkins, the executive director of the National Memorial and Museum, told me?
The museum runs programs devoted to promoting forgiveness, teaches the art of compromise and meeting in the middle, rather than going out and blowing up a building filled with innocent people.
Do you see the Gates of Time at either end of the memorial? One is marked 9:01, the final moment of innocence before your monstrosity exploded at 9:02. At the other end, the gate is marked at 9:03, marking the beginning of healing.
I could visit this place every day and never tire of it.
Story topics: Oklahoma City bombing/ Timothy McVeigh
Lou Michel– Lou Michel is the main crime reporter for The Buffalo News and co-author of the best-seller, "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing." He has received numerous state and national journalism awards.
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McVeigh bombing conspirator writes prison letters to son but gets rejected
Terry Nichols enters the Pittsburg County Courthouse in McAlester, Okla., during his trial March 2, 2004. He was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring with Timothy McVeigh to bomb the Alfred Murrah Federal Building, where 168 people died in the April 19, 1995, terrorist attack. (Larry W. Smith/Getty Images file photo)
By Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck
Published 5:30 a.m. April 18, 2020
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The man who helped Pendleton native Timothy McVeigh build the bomb that killed 168 people in Oklahoma City often spends time in his prison cell trying to reach out to his troubled son.
But Joshua “Josh” Nichols wants nothing to do with Terry Nichols, who is serving 161 consecutive life sentences for his role in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
Terry Nichols writes letters urging his 37-year-old old son to contact him so they can reestablish a long-broken relationship, according to Lana Padilla, the woman caught in the middle as Josh’s mother and Nichols' ex-wife.
“Terry’s letters are lengthy, written on the front and back of pages. He tries to be a parent from a distance. I try to get Josh to read the letters but Josh won’t,” Padilla said.
Josh Nichols – who was 12 when the bombing occurred and today is in a Nevada jail awaiting trial on kidnapping, armed robbery and burglary charges – could be counted as one more victim of the Oklahoma City bombing, thanks to his father's involvement.
Terry Nichols’ failed attempt to be a father to his oldest son also provides a window into his life at the nation’s most secure federal prison in the remote, desert country of southern Colorado.
Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum: A solemn remembrance
In the 25 years since the bombing, few details have emerged on Nichols’ life behind bars. He has written letters to bombing victims who have reached out to him and, early on, reportedly complained about prison conditions.
Padilla says he is fond of quoting or paraphrasing scriptures from the Bible to make a point in his letters. Nichols has also portrayed himself as a spiritual individual in letters to other individuals.
In a letter to Mike Nations, who lived a block away from the Murrah building, Nichols wrote:
"...may He bring to your heart the peace & comfort which only He can do. Be well. And keep your faith & hope in God. Your friend, Terry."
In another letter, Nichols told Nations that his "work" in prison includes letter writing and "Bible study."
Nichols did not respond to a letter from The Buffalo News seeking an interview. U.S. Bureau of Prisons officials declined to release any information on whether he has visitors, makes phone calls or if he has violated rules at the Administrative-Maximum Security Penitentiary in Florence, Colo. They cited privacy and safety issues.
Nichols has kept a low profile, after having been spared the death penalty twice by juries in federal and state trials for his role in the worst act of domestic terrorism committed by an American citizen.
THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING
PART 1: COULD THE BOMBING HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
Part 2: Youngest survivor: 'I say 'I love you' all the time'
Part 3: How a grieving husband and son coped
Part 4: Buried in bomb's rubble, rescued by firefighter who wouldn't go
Part 5: How Bill McVeigh endured 25 years as father of a terrorist
The series so far
After one of the biggest law enforcement investigations ever in American history, the government charged three co-conspirators in the bombing, McVeigh, Nichols and Michael Fortier.
McVeigh, who drove the truck bomb to Oklahoma City and ignited it, was convicted in 1998 and executed in 2001. He was found guilty of first-degree murder of eight federal law enforcement officers, use of a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy.
Fortier cooperated with the government and testified against McVeigh and Nichols. After serving more than 10 years of his 12-year prison sentence, he and his family disappeared from public view. It is believed that they entered the government's witness protection program, but his lawyer said he is not at liberty to confirm or deny that.
In another of Nichols’ letters from prison, the 65-year-old former Michigan resident expressed his belief that the bombing involved a wider conspiracy, according to the letter’s recipient, Jannie Coverdale, who lost two young grandsons in the bombing.
Coverdale said that Nichols wrote her that explosives were still stashed in the Kansas house where he had lived during the time of the bombing. If investigators checked, they would not only find the unused explosives but the fingerprints of another individual on them, Coverdale said in recounting the letter.
Acting on a tip in 2005, the FBI found blasting caps buried in a crawl space beneath Terry Nichols' Herington, Kan., residence, but the agents did not make any additional arrests.
In a conversation with Padilla, Nichols also shed some light on how McVeigh operated, according to his former wife of 10 years.
“One thing Terry did say is that McVeigh was very, very secretive and he never brought everybody all together,” Padilla said.
In one of Nichols' letters to Nations, who believes there were more people involved in the bombing than charged, Nichols asked him to pray "that the full truth will be revealed & the coverup exposed."
Timothy McVeigh is led from the Noble County Courthouse in Perry, Okla., on April 21, 1995, by FBI agents after being charged in the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. McVeigh, who was convicted of the bombing that killed 168 people, was executed in Terre Haute, Ind., in 2001. (Bob Daemmerich/AFP via Getty Images file photo)
A betrayal of trust
Padilla moved with Josh to Las Vegas after her marriage to Nichols ended before the 1995 bombing. She is willing to speak about her former husband and the impact the bombing has had on her and her son, but with reluctance.
She says the bombing victims in Oklahoma City have suffered much more than them.
For years, Josh believed his father’s claim that he was innocent, Padilla said. He loved his father and endured insults. Other kids in school, she said, started calling him “bomber,” a nickname that has stuck.
Joshua and Nadine Nichols. (Provided photo)
In his late teens, Josh started breaking the law and getting involved in drugs, according to police.
But things went from bad to worse in 2005 after Terry Nichols’ two trials were completed and his fate was sealed, Padilla said.
During a prison visit, Nichols admitted his role in the bombing to her, his mother and sister, Padilla said.
When Padilla broke the news to her son, she said he was devastated.
“Josh said to me, ‘We really believed in his innocence, mom. You and I had cried and cried,’ ” Padilla said.
His drug addiction and criminal behavior increased, she said. “Josh has been in jail more than he has been out of jail.”
Sympathy for Nichols' son
Bud Welch, who lost his daughter in the bombing, has described Josh Nichols as one of its victims.
“Josh was a victim in as much that he was betrayed by his father when he was 12 years old,” Welch said.
A Las Vegas police detective who has investigated Josh Nichols, said it could not be easy to be the son of a co-conspirator in the bombing.
“I think of Josh as a 12-year-old boy and what he had to go through growing up. The struggle with his identity, school kids calling him ‘bomber,’ and his father’s claims of innocence. I have tremendous sympathy for that boy who wasn’t mentally able to cope with the stresses,” said Detective Bradley Nickell.
But the detective said he draws a line when it comes to the safety of the community.
“He is a grown man and knows the difference between right and wrong and chooses to continue doing wrong anyway,” said Nickell, who is also an author of true crime books. “When not in custody, Josh is often a one-man crime wave.”
Josh Nichols’ crimes include burglaries, auto theft, unlawful use of credit cards and high-speed police chases in which an officer was once injured, according to Nickell.
Padilla says her son’s addiction to drugs has resulted in many admissions to rehabilitation programs.
“He has been in all kinds of programs and he could teach them,” she said. “All his different attorneys have told Josh, ‘You are paying for your father’s sins.’ ”
Efforts to reach Josh Nichols for an interview were unsuccessful. His mother said she rarely has contact with him and that he has been homeless at times.
A bouquet of flowers is left on the chair remembering Jaci Rae Coyne who was 14 months old when she was killed. Photo taken at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)
Two views of Terry Nichols
Coverdale, whose two grandsons were among the 15 children killed in the Murrah building’s day care, said Terry Nichols does not deserve to be in prison for life.
“I don’t think Terry Nichols should have gotten all that time. He wasn’t here that day. He didn’t help blow up that building,” said Coverdale, who believes there was a broader conspiracy of people involved in the bombing.
“It wasn’t just a Terry Nichols-Timothy McVeigh thing,” Coverdale said.
But Padilla says she remains upset at how her former husband behaved.
Before the bombing, Nichols provided McVeigh with a lift back to Kansas after McVeigh parked a getaway car near the Murrah building.
“How can someone eat Easter dinner, get up and go to Oklahoma,” Padilla said.
“Then he asked to keep our son for another week for an alibi,” Padilla said.
25 years later: Victims and families of the Oklahoma City bombing
Josh Nichols had been in Kansas visiting his father for the Easter break when the bomb exploded.
Terry Nichols also has two other children from a second marriage. They could not be reached for comment.
Saving a box of letters
Dr. Charles P. Ewing, a University at Buffalo distinguished service professor emeritus who specialized in criminal law and child psychology, says incarcerated parents often try to patch up broken relationships with their children.
“It is not uncommon for parents who have gone to prison for much less heinous offenses to be rejected by their children,” Ewing said.
Padilla says she is saving Nichols’ unread letters to their son.
“I have a little box with all the letters from Terry and I hope Josh will read them someday,” Padilla said. “I hope one day they will reunite, but I don’t know if it is too late for that.”
Story topics: Oklahoma City bombing/ Timothy McVeigh
Lou Michel– Lou Michel is the main crime reporter for The Buffalo News and co-author of the best-seller, "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing." He has received numerous state and national journalism awards.
Dan Herbeck– Dan Herbeck is an investigative reporter who has been at The Buffalo News for nearly 40 years. He is a graduate of Sweet Home High School, Erie County Community College and St. Bonaventure University. He and Lou Michel wrote a best-selling book in 2001 about Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing, "American Terrorist."
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