Nichols jurors warned not to be 'swept away' by emotion

The jury arrives at the courthouse

December 31, 1997
Web posted at: 3:24 p.m. EST (2024 GMT)

DENVER (CNN) -- The judge reminded jurors Wednesday that they must not be "swept away by the emotional impact" of this week's heartwrenching testimony by Oklahoma City bombing victims' relatives and rescuers.

Over the previous two days, the jurors considering whether to sentence Nichols to death have heard three dozen witnesses give gripping, graphic accounts about the aftermath of the April 19, 1995, bombing that killed 168 people.

"It's important to remember what your role is," U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch told the seven women and five men who convicted the 42-year-old Nichols of conspiracy and eight counts of involuntary manslaughter -- not murder. The conspiracy charge carries a potential death sentence.

"The ultimate question is what should be done to him for the crime of conspiracy," Matsch said. "It would be a violation of your oath to be swept away by the emotional impact of the testimony."

The prosecution team arrives

Prosecutors were expected to conclude their case in the sentencing hearing Wednesday. Court will be in recess on New Year's Day, resuming with the defense on Friday. Matsch said the defense would wrap up its case by Monday or Tuesday, followed by closing arguments and jury instructions.

The other defendent in the case, Timothy McVeigh, was convicted of all 11 murder and conspiracy charges and sentenced to death.

Matsch told the jurors they "must consider information from both sides," realizing there is no cross-examination of impact witnesses, because there is nothing to dispute.

He admitted that the tales of anguish were "quite graphic and vivid." But Matsch added: "None of what you heard was admissible evidence at trial ... None of it proves anything against Terry Nichols and the charges against him."

But he also explained that under the conspiracy conviction, "a person can be responsible for the conduct of others involved in a conspiracy and responsible for deaths ... that were foreseeable."

Matsch addressed the jurors after meeting outside the courtroom with prosecution and defense lawyers at the request of Nichols' lead attorney Michael Tigar.

Litany of grief continues

Defense attorney Michael Tigar

When testimony resumed, Alice Denison, whose father, U.S. Secret Service agent Mickey Maroney, was killed in the blast, took the stand. "The day that he was gone was the day my life stopped," she said.

"I don't have my hero anymore. My hero's gone," she said. "My baby doesn't have a granddaddy. I don't have a daddy ... The strength of my family is gone."

Gulf War veteran Randy Norfleet also spoke. He lost his right eye in the bombing and nearly bled to death on the way to the hospital where he was given 500 stitches.

Witness Helena Garrett explained that the last time she saw her 16-month-old son Tevin alive, he was waving from the second-floor window of the building's day-care center. Tevin was one of 19 children who died.

"Telling my daughter was the hardest thing," Garrett said. "I had to tell her that her brother died, and he wouldn't be coming home."

Although Nichols stood trial on the same charges as McVeigh, the Nichols jury was given options to the first-degree murder counts, and convicted him of involuntary manslaughter instead -- a crime punishable by no more than six years in prison.

The penalty phase of Nichols' trial covers only the conspiracy count. Matsch will determine a sentence for the manslaughter conviction later.

T H E   N I C H O L S   T R I A L  /   T H E   M c V E I G H   T R I A L
T H E   B O M B I N G  /   C N N   S T O R I E S   /   L I N K S

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