Bombing survivors file suit to keep McVeigh alive
By Howard Greninger
Tribune-Star
Two survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing consider Timothy McVeigh's knowledge of the crime as evidence and want a federal judge to temporarily stop his execution in Terre Haute.
Jane Graham and V.Z. Lawton filed suit May 11 in U.S. District Court, Terre Haute.
Graham and Lawton intend to file suit against government officials in Oklahoma, said Texas attorney Harmon L. Taylor.
"We need to preserve the evidence, and victims are in the best position to assert preservation of evidence," Taylor said.
McVeigh's execution is set for June 11 in the U.S. Penitentiary, Terre Haute, although McVeigh on Thursday authorized his attorneys to seek a stay.
Graham and Lawton each claim hearing at least two major explosions in the Murrah building before a bomb exploded from a rental truck. They claim early explosions caused the Murrah building to collapse, not just the bomb from the truck linked to McVeigh. Graham has made statements suggesting evidence exists that McVeigh may not have acted alone in the crime, court papers indicate.
The lawsuit names as defendants Harley Lappin, warden at the U.S. Penitentiary, and Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter. Carter was included because the lawsuit alleges the penitentiary could be state property rather than federal property as there was no consent by the Indiana legislature to any transfer into the hands of the U.S. government, Taylor said.
U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison said Graham and Lawton have no grounds for their lawsuit, in part because they have failed to show they suffered injuries caused by the defendants.
"There is no standing to bring this case, so it should be dismissed," Morrison said when contacted Wednesday.
The plaintiffs do not represent McVeigh and the complaint "fails to specify what evidence McVeigh might provide, or how such evidence would advance their civil litigation or indeed what it is they hope to prove with Mr. McVeigh's testimony," Morrison said in a response filed Wednesday in court.
"In this respect, the facts surrounding the tragic Oklahoma City Murrah Building bombing have been established in open court, via adversarial proceedings, by overwhelming and irrefutable evidence, and can hardly be disputed," Morrison said in his response.
Staci Schneider, spokeswoman for the Indiana Attorney General's office, said the office was surprised at being named as a defendant.
"We have joined the federal response and believe the lawsuit should be dismissed or that the claim against [Indiana Attorney General] Steve Carter be dropped," she said.
Graham was on the ninth floor of the Murrah building while Lawton was on the eighth floor when it collapsed, according to the lawsuit.
Judge John D. Tinder could rule on the lawsuit by early next week.
Back to Archived Stories Index