Showtime's 'Waco: The Aftermath': How was Timothy McVeigh, the 'most hated man in America' executed?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Timothy James McVeigh, a crew-cut American domestic terrorist with a poker face who carried out the bombing of Oklahoma City in 1995 that destroyed one-third of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building, was executed by lethal injection.
The upcoming Showtime crime-drama miniseries 'Waco: The Aftermath' is a sequel to the 2018 miniseries 'Waco.' The sequel will portray the aftermath of the siege and the subsequent trials of the Branch Davidians' surviving members. On the show, actor Alex Breaux plays homegrown terrorist Timothy McVeigh who played a significant role in his attempts to disrupt the government following the 51-siege. One of the many questions raised by fans is why was Timothy McVeigh executed and not given a death penalty. Continue reading to find out.
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Who was Timothy McVeigh?
Timothy McVeigh signed up for the United States Army at the age of 20 and participated in Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at the United States Army Infantry School in Fort Benning, Georgia. McVeigh, who was introduced to firearms by his grandfather, eventually became so interested in them that he spent much of his spare time reading about firearms, sniper tactics, and explosives. 'The Turner Diaries,' a racist novel famous in neo-Nazi and militia circles about an angry person who blows up the FBI building in Washington, had become a long-time favorite of his. Terry Nichols, his platoon guide and future co-conspirator, quickly became friends with him due to their similar backgrounds and views on gun collecting and survivalism. Later, the two were positioned together at Fort Riley in Junction City, Kansas, where they became friends with their future accomplice, Michael Fortier.
What role did he play in the 1993 Waco siege?
During the Waco siege in 1993, McVeigh drove to Waco, Texas, to show his support and started to spread pro-gun rights literary works and stickers with slogans like "When guns are illegal, I will become an outlaw."
Following the Waco siege, McVeigh went to a farm in Michigan, where Terry Nichols and his brother started training him how to build bombs by combining household chemicals in plastic jugs. McVeigh was outraged by the destruction of the Waco compound and decided that it was time to act. He was particularly enraged by the government's use of CS gas on women and children; he had been exposed to the gas during his military service training and was familiar with its effects.
McVeigh's anti-government rhetoric grew more strident and he started distributing pamphlets with titles like "US Government Initiates Open Warfare Against American People" and "Waco Shootout Evokes Memory of Warsaw '43." He started to make pipe bombs and other small improvised explosives as a hobby and when in 1994, the government enforced new firearms restrictions, McVeigh perceived this restrictions as a threat to his livelihood. According to McVeigh's official biography, he chose to make the loudest declaration possible by bombing a federal building, but after the bombing, Timothy revaluted his actions and the deaths caused by it; in letters to his hometown newspaper, he wrote that he wanted to carry out a series of assassination attempts against law enforcement and government officials instead.
The Oklahoma City bombing, followed by a trial and, ultimately, death
McVeigh took a rented vehicle to the front of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building shortly after its offices opened for the day on April 19, 1995 and stopped for a moment before arriving to light a two-minute fuse. A massive explosion destroyed the north half of the building at 09:02. The explosion killed about 168 people, including 19 children in the second-floor day care center, and injured 684 more. The ex-Army soldier stated that he wanted to strike back at the government for the sieges at Waco and Ruby Ridge.
Later, McVeigh was indicted on 11 federal counts on August 10, 1995, including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, possession of a weapon of mass destruction, destruction with explosives, and eight counts of first-degree murder for the lives lost of law enforcement officers. McVeigh was convicted on all 11 counts of the federal indictment on June 2, 1997. McVeigh was charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and destroying a federal building, in addition to eight counts of murder. After McVeigh's co-defendant, Terry Nichols was tried, Oklahoma City District Attorney Bob Macy said he would file criminal charges for the other 160 murders.
McVeigh had requested for a national television execution, but his request was denied. McVeigh was executed by lethal injection at 7:14 am on June 11, 2001; according to one prison official the home grown terrorist had received the Roman Catholic sacrament of the Anointment of the Sick, which is used to forgive sins and prepare the sick for the transition to eternal life. In this order, three chemicals were injected: sodium pentothal, which causes sleep, pancuronium bromide, which stops breathing, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart. "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul," he said as he died.
For one survivor, watching McVeigh die over the closed-circuit broadcast provided justice but no closure. The sequel of 'Waco' is going to look to connect the rise of Timothy McVeigh and the emerging 'Patriot' movement of the devastating Oklahoma City bombing to the Waco massacre. The Oklahoma City bombing was supposed to turn Timothy McVeigh into a martyr for the far-right but instead, he was dubbed the 'most despised man in America.'