Terry Nichols Was Almost a Free Man
Bill Nalty
HERE'S HOW TERRY NICHOLS WAS ALMOST ACQUITTED
05/30/98 07:49:56 PM
Scripps Howard News Service
Release date: 05-31-98
Colorado Springs may not use
By LYNN BARTELS
Terry Nichols almost had it made.
When the 12 Coloradans on his. jury began deliberating, they took. a vote
-- 10-2 for acquittal.
But a Golden geophysicist who. knows something about bombs and science
insisted they review. every piece of evidence.
That changed everything.
In Denver federal court Thursday, Nichols could receive up to life in
prison from U S. District Judge Richard Matsch for his conspiracy
conviction in the Oklahoma City terrorist blast that killed 168 people.
As sentencing neared last. week, several jurors for the first time
described their agonizing and. acrimonious deliberations last fall and
winter.
The early straw vote stunned jurors Tim Burge, a Fort Collins, Colo.
brewery worker, and Todd Fockler, the geophysicist. They had voted to
convict.
''I couldn't believe it,'' Burge. said. ''I was like, man, did I miss
something here or what?''
As they pored over the evidence, more jurors decided Nichols was guilty.
Three jurors, including Arvada teachers aide Linda Morgan, did not.
''I argued with them so much I made them cry,'' Fockler said. ''Linda threw
her book at me and. screamed and called me a prosecuting attorney. She said
I had a death wish for Terry.''
With a deadlock looming after six days of deliberations, the jurors reached
a compromise verdict that pleased almost no one --. grieving Oklahomans,
prosecutors. or defense attorneys.
The jury convicted Nichols of. planning the April 19, 1995, bombing with
Timothy McVeigh. But it acquitted him of actually bombing the building and
of first-degree murder.
Morgan isn't sure whether she would vote again to convict Nichols of
conspiracy.
''I truly think in my heart he was framed,'' she said.
Months later, Fockler's frustration is still evident.
''It's beyond comprehension,'' he said, ''how some of these people got on
the jury.''
Juror Thomas Baker, an Aurora, Colo. shipping clerk, thought Nichols guilty
but said he respects jurors-- who felt otherwise.
''It was 12 individuals,'' he said. ''They voiced their opinion, even
though from time to time we do. get tested on our opinions.
''I think that's what America is all about, right?''
Seven women and five men landed on the jury that would decide Nichols'
fate.
''I always thought, `Why did they pick me?' '' said Commerce City, Colo.
homemaker Diana Vaughn.
But the term ''pick'' is incorrect, Denver defense attorney Scott Robinson
said.
''Jury system by its very nature is the leftovers,'' he said. ''(Jurors)
are not usually anybody's first choice. They are what's left after the
extremes on both ends are eliminated.''
In the end, attorneys last Oct. 30 settled on a jury that made both sides
nervous.
Robert Hirschhorn, the defense's jury consultant, had a feeling that Vaughn
would be a problem for Nichols. He was right.
Prosecutors took a risk when they kept Niki Deutchman, a Denver obstetrics
nurse, on the jury. They gambled that her intellect would overcome what
appeared to be an anti-government sentiment.
Deutchman, the jury forewoman, will long be known for her solo press
conference after the trial. She blasted the FBI, praised the defense and
implied that the. bombing was a natural response from citizens unhappy with
the government.
''Niki came off pretty badly in her press conference,'' Fockler said.
''Everybody blames Niki, but at least Niki was analytical. Niki was not the
problem.''
Deutchman declined to be interviewed. She said she has tried to keep a low
profile since receiving death threats after her remarks.
The prosecution worried about. Deutchman -- but got blindsided by the
unlikely trio of Morgan, Lashel Singleton, a Denver telemarketer, and Pam
Oakley, a Brighton, Colo. school bus driver.
Singleton and Oakley have never talked publicly about the trial.
Morgan said her job was to review the evidence, not make the bombing
victims happy.
''They wanted Terry punished,'' she said. ''But I can't be their arm of
justice if the facts weren't there.''
The government's case against. Nichols was weaker than the evidence against
co-defendant. McVeigh.
''Not to take anything away from those (McVeigh) jurors, but our case
wasn't as concrete,'' Baker said. ''There were a lot more uncertainties
going on in our trial.''
For one thing, Nichols wasn't in Oklahoma City when the bomb exploded. He
was home in Herington, Kan , with his mail-order bride and their young
daughter. He didn't rent the truck used in the bombing. He didn't leave
behind volumes of letters spewing anti-government venom.
And Nichols had attorney Michael Tigar, a brilliant lawyer known for
charming and disarming juries.
Morgan said the defense team did a masterful job refuting the government's
case.
''There were holes you could drive a Mack truck through,'' she said.
Vaughn credited the defense. with creating the aura of Nichols as a family
man who was, in Tigar's words, ''building a life, not a bomb.''
That testimony didn't sway Fockler, who described himself as a ''technical
engineering type.''
Fockler, who works with explosives, understood complicated testimony.
He praised the FBI for the incredible amount of evidence it recovered. But
he said some FBI employees did a bad job testifying.
''I wanted to slap them and. shout, `Answer the question and stop being so
equivocal,''' Fockler. said.
Among the evidence introduced. was a drill bit taken from Nichols' home.
The prosecution said Nichols and McVeigh used the drill to break into a
quarry to steal explosives used in the bombing.
''When I saw the photographs of. the drill impressions, in about three
seconds I recognized it as a perfect match,'' Fockler said. ''I. said,
`This is the drill bit from the theft of those explosives and it's in Terry
Nichols' house.'''
But Fockler said the FBI agent who testified about the bit became evasive
during Tigar's cross-examination.
''Jurors who don't look at technical evidence come to one of two
conclusions with that kind of witness,'' he said. ''A, he is lying, or B,
he is incompetent.''
When jurors took their first. vote Dec. 17, Fockler explained why he
thought Nichols was. guilty.
''I don't care what Michael Tigar says,'' Fockler said he told the jurors.
''There is no reason any- one in America has explosives in. their house
without an explosives license.''
Vaughn initially voted to acquit.
''Personally, I was on the fence,'' she said. ''All along, Judge Matsch had
said keep an open mind, and I had. I didn't have an opinion yet. We hadn't
started to go through the evidence.''
Fockler and Burge talked privately.
''I said, `I am not acquitting him until we've seen every piece of
evidence,''' Fockler said. ''Tim said, `We're going to be here for a long
time.'''
Once jurors began examining the evidence, the number of jurors who thought
Nichols was guilty grew. Among them were Vaughn, Baker, Keith Brookshier,
an Arvada, Colo. fountain installer, and Chris. Seib, a Morrison, Colo.
banker.
At one point, Fockler said, he used a painting by George Seurat to make a
point to Holly Hanlin, an Englewood, Colo. temporary service manager.
''I said, `Holly, when you look at it very closely, it's just a bunch of
dots, a bunch of colors. But when you step back, it paints this beautiful
picture of a lakeshore with people standing on it,''' he said.
Hanlin eventually said she thought Nichols could be guilty. So did Bertil
Carlson, a Denver bus driver who frequently napped during testimony.
Deutchman told jurors she believed Nichols had tried to back out of the
bombing but that McVeigh perhaps threatened his family.
Morgan, Oakley and Singleton remained unconvinced of Nichols' guilt.
Singleton unnerved some jurors when she said a person driving a car during
a shooting or robbery shouldn't necessarily be considered an accessory to a
crime.
And she frustrated them be cause she dozed so often that she could recall
only limited testimony.
''Here you had people that napped during the trial and couldn't understand
what was going on,'' Fockler said. ''And then you had really sharp people
as alternates and they couldn't be part of the deliberations.''
Oakley argued that a family man could not carry out a bombing that. killed
168 people, including 19 children.
Vaughn, who had worried that her limited education would hinder her work as
a juror, became grateful for her common sense.
''I can remember telling Pam and Lashel, `Where is your common sense?'''
she said. ''And that's not because they couldn't see it the way I felt it,
but because it was there.''
Said Burge: `I remember lying in bed one night, sleeping only two hours,
thinking, how can I convince these people?''
The deliberations grew even more tense as the three jurors held out for
Nichols.
''What was frustrating was they could not explain why,'' Fockler said.
''Linda would say, `I'm sorry. I have to go with my heart ' And I. would
say, `What does your heart say about the facts?'
''She was saying, `I never give. in. I always go against the flow. I've
gotten in trouble for that. I'm. always for the underdog.' That made me
want to scream. I'm your classic bleeding heart liberal. I came into this
case with an open mind. But there was so. much evidence.''
Finally, Morgan, Oakley and Singleton conceded that Nichols had helped
plant McVeigh's getaway car in Oklahoma City. But they said they wouldn't
convict him on other charges.
Deutchman worked with the three holdouts to reach a compromise. Fockler
talked to the others.
''Diana and Chris were probably. the two biggest `hawks,''' Fockler said.
''I don't know if it's because. they were mothers, but they thought Nichols
was an abominable monster.''
Seib said she initially balked at acquitting Nichols on some charges.
''I said, `No, I'm sticking to my guns. I'm willing to stay here three
months. There is no compromise. This is black and white here.' But Todd
said, `Chris, we have to convict him,''' Seib said.
Two days before Christmas, jurors announced they had reached a decision.
Seib cried in the jury box as stunned spectators listened to the verdict.
''She wasn't crying because Terry Nichols was convicted,'' Fockler said.
''She was crying be- cause we didn't convict him enough.''
Some jurors thought the trial would end with their verdict.
They didn't realize that with the conspiracy conviction, they'd have to
decide between a life or death sentence.
''They felt tricked somehow, and I don't know why,'' Vaughn. said.
Fockler said he thinks some jurors thought Nichols would serve a year or
two in prison and then be released.
Jurors deliberated on a sentence for 131/2 hours over two days before
Deutchman sent the judge a note Jan. 7 that talks were going nowhere.
Matsch announced the next day that he would sentence Nichols himself.
The trial was over.
Bombing victims fled the courthouse in tears.
So did some jurors.
''For a long time I felt guilty,'' Vaughn said. ''I felt I had let everyone
down, although I worked so hard.''
Several jurors and alternates will be present when Matsch announces
Nichols' sentence.
''I'm hoping that this brings closure,'' Seib said, ''because I'm still
very bitter about this.''
(Lynn Bartels writes for Rocky Mountain News in Denver.)
AP-NY-05-30-98 2044EDT
Mike;Schneider'
In article <6kqea2$3...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, "Bill Nalty"
<CBa...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>HERE'S HOW TERRY NICHOLS WAS ALMOST ACQUITTED
>
>05/30/98 07:49:56 PM
>
>Scripps Howard News Service
>Release date: 05-31-98
>Colorado Springs may not use
>
>By LYNN BARTELS
>
>Terry Nichols almost had it made.
>
>When the 12 Coloradans on his. jury began deliberating, they took. a vote
>-- 10-2 for acquittal.
>
>But a Golden geophysicist who. knows something about bombs and science
>insisted they review. every piece of evidence.
>
>That changed everything.
>
>In Denver federal court Thursday, Nichols could receive up to life in
>prison from U S. District Judge Richard Matsch for his conspiracy
>conviction in the Oklahoma City terrorist blast that killed 168 people.
>
>As sentencing neared last. week, several jurors for the first time
>described their agonizing and. acrimonious deliberations last fall and
>winter.
>
>The early straw vote stunned jurors Tim Burge, a Fort Collins, Colo.
>brewery worker, and Todd Fockler, the geophysicist. They had voted to
>convict.
snip
>That testimony didn't sway Fockler, who described himself as a ''technical
>engineering type.''
>
>Fockler, who works with explosives, understood complicated testimony.
>
>He praised the FBI for the incredible amount of evidence it recovered. But
>he said some FBI employees did a bad job testifying.
>
>''I wanted to slap them and. shout, `Answer the question and stop being so
>equivocal,''' Fockler. said.
>
>Among the evidence introduced. was a drill bit taken from Nichols' home.
>The prosecution said Nichols and McVeigh used the drill to break into a
>quarry to steal explosives used in the bombing.
>
>''When I saw the photographs of. the drill impressions, in about three
>seconds I recognized it as a perfect match,'' Fockler said. ''I. said,
>`This is the drill bit from the theft of those explosives and it's in Terry
>Nichols' house.'''
>
>But Fockler said the FBI agent who testified about the bit became evasive
>during Tigar's cross-examination.
>
>''Jurors who don't look at technical evidence come to one of two
>conclusions with that kind of witness,'' he said. ''A, he is lying, or B,
>he is incompetent.''
>
>When jurors took their first. vote Dec. 17, Fockler explained why he
>thought Nichols was. guilty.
>
>''I don't care what Michael Tigar says,'' Fockler said he told the jurors.
>''There is no reason any- one in America has explosives in. their house
>without an explosives license.''
This is awful god-dammned *fishy*.
I'm betting sound money that Fockler is a government agent "planted" in
that jury. He "works with "explosives", does he? Uh, sure he is. And I'm
the fairy godmother. He can "match" drill bits and impressions? Er, right.
(The only way a drill bit wouldn't leave impressions identical to a
million other drill bits of the same caliber in garages all across America
is if it were marred - which is to say ruined - during the drilling. So
why would Nichols keep a ruined, dulled drillbit? It absolutely REEKS of
planted evidence.
And so Nichols had "explosives" in his house without a license. Big
fucking deal. So he liked to blow up stumps. That is not "proof" of a
conspiracy to blow up OKC.
I'll tell you why that FBI agent was being evasive: he was lying about
*something*.
-- -------------------------------------------------------------------
To prevent email spam, my email address is altered. To reach me, you
must replace everything before the @ with "mike1" and delete any CAPS.
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work
within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.
-- Claire Wolfe, "101 Things To Do 'Til the Revolution"
Matthew T. Russotto
In article <ETELEDmike1-31...@ppp-66-87.dialup.winternet.com>,
Mike;Schneider' <ETELE...@winternet.com> wrote:
}In article <6kqea2$3...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, "Bill Nalty"
}<CBa...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
}
}>
}>05/30/98 07:49:56 PM
}>
}>Scripps Howard News Service
}>Release date: 05-31-98
}>Colorado Springs may not use
}>
}>By LYNN BARTELS
}>
}>Terry Nichols almost had it made.
}>
}>When the 12 Coloradans on his. jury began deliberating, they took. a vote
}>-- 10-2 for acquittal.
}>
}>But a Golden geophysicist who. knows something about bombs and science
}>insisted they review. every piece of evidence.
[...]
}>''When I saw the photographs of. the drill impressions, in about three
}>seconds I recognized it as a perfect match,'' Fockler said. ''I. said,
}>`This is the drill bit from the theft of those explosives and it's in Terry
}>Nichols' house.'''
}>
}>But Fockler said the FBI agent who testified about the bit became evasive
}>during Tigar's cross-examination.
[...]
} This is awful god-dammned *fishy*.
A juror essentially giving expert testimony for the prosecution behind
closed doors in the jury room? No, nothing at all suspicious there.
--
Matthew T. Russotto russ...@pond.com
"Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in pursuit
of justice is no virtue."