Nichols verdict dismays victims' families, friends

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• 'I'm damn sure not happy about this verdict'
• 'The verdict speaks for itself'
• 'We'll be the safety net'
• 'It ain't over'
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December 23, 1997
Web posted at: 10:35 p.m. EST (0335 GMT)

DENVER (CNN) -- Family and friends of Oklahoma City bombing victims reacted with dismay and disbelief that Terry Nichols was found guilty only of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of eight federal employees.

"I'm damn sure not happy about this verdict," said Dan McKinney, whose wife, Secret Service agent Linda McKinney, died in the bombing.

"I don't understand what was going on in this jury's mind when it was going through this," said Roy Sells, who lost his wife of 37 years.

Rudy Guzman lost his brother in the disaster and said he was "shocked" at the verdict. "I thought it was going to be guilty straight across," he said. "I'm upset right now."

"I don't understand this jury," said Jannie Coverdale, the grandmother of two bombing victims. "But I have one consolation: (Nichols and Timothy McVeigh) are still going to be tried in Oklahoma City."

CNN's Jim Hill asks Macy about his plans to try Nichols
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Roy Sells, victim's husband: "I just don't understand what the jury's mindset was."
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Jannie Coverdell, grandmother of victims: "...I don't understand this jury."
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Rudy Guzman, victim's brother, responds to what he hopes the jury hears in the penalty phase:
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Attorney General Janet Reno recalls the victims and survivors of the bombing:
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Reno claims justice has been served:
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'The verdict speaks for itself'

But Aren Almon Kok, whose year-old daughter Baylee was carried from the bomb scene by a firefighter, said justice had been done.

"I think the jury did a good job," she said. "I'm very happy with the outcome. When the trials are over, it'll be a time for healing. I'm hoping there won't be a state trial.

"(The mixed verdict is) kind of the way I feel, that Timothy McVeigh did the most part," she said. "Terry Nichols did conspire with him, but maybe it just came out like that. I do feel like it is more the responsibility of Timothy McVeigh than of Terry Nichols."

In a brief statement as he left the courthouse, prosecutor Larry Mackey seemed neither pleased nor displeased by the verdict.

"The jury has spoken," he said. "We accept their verdict in its entirety. We're prepared to go forward with the penalty phase."

"We'll wait until the process is completed," said defense attorney Michael Tigar. As he began to walk away, he added, "The verdict speaks for itself."

'We'll be the safety net'

Among the other reactions:

• "I'm very disappointed," said Bob Macy, district attorney for the Oklahoma City area. "This is not going to sit well with the people of Oklahoma County."

  Macy said he didn't agree that Nichols didn't participate in the bombing. "He's just as responsible for those deaths, as far as I'm concerned, as Tim McVeigh."

  Macy also said that he still intends to charge both Nichols and Timothy McVeigh with 160 counts of murder.

  "We'll be the safety net," Macy said. "If he falls through the federal net, we'll be there to pick him up."

• President Clinton, in a statement released by the White House, said: "I know that no verdict in a court of law can ease the loss of a loved one. But the successful prosecution of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols should offer a measure of comfort that all Americans stand with the families of Oklahoma City."

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A L S O :

Full text of President Clinton's statement

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• Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating called the verdict "a terrible disappointment to the family members."

  "This is a person who could have stopped all of this," he said.

• U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno read a brief statement in Washington, which said, in part, "FBI Director Louis Freeh and I promised to follow every lead and bring those responsible to justice. Today, that promise has been kept.

  "No verdict," she said, "can bring back a loved one, but today (was) an important step forward in the process of healing."

'It ain't over'

• Bud Welch, who lost a daughter in the bombing, said his initial reaction was disappointment, but that he was consoled by the likelihood that Nichols will spend the rest of his life in prison.

  "The important thing to me is that they stay in prison for life," he said.

  Asked if he hoped Nichols might yet receive the death penalty, Welch said, "I'm not interested in vengeance. That serves no purpose."

• Psychologist and bombing survivor Dr. Paul Heath said: "This is our justice system, it's the only one we have. The jury has spoken. I will live with it."

• But as Nichols' brother was led from the courtroom after the verdicts were read, James Nichols muttered, "It ain't over."

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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