Judge denies survivor's request for postponement
By Howard Greninger
Tribune-Star
A federal judge Friday denied a motion from two Oklahoma City bombing survivors seeking to temporarily stop the execution of Timothy McVeigh, dismissing their lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction.
Judge John D. Tinder ruled in U.S. District Court, Southern Indiana, against plaintiffs Jane Graham and V.Z. Lawton, survivors of the 1995 bombing of the federal Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
Tinder ruled that the two do not represent McVeigh and are not entitled to any challenge McVeigh may have.
The plaintiffs, who consider McVeigh's knowledge of the crime as evidence, intend to file a lawsuit against government officials in Oklahoma, said Texas attorney Harmon L. Taylor.
Graham and Lawton, who were inside the Murrah building, each claim hearing at least two major explosions in the 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.
Graham and Lawton filed the lawsuit on May 11 in U.S. District Court against Harley Lappin, warden of the U.S. Penitentiary, Terre Haute, and Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter.
Tinder also ruled the two survivors lacked "standing" for the lawsuit, in part because they failed to show they suffered injuries caused by the defendants.
Taylor said Friday he was disappointed in the ruling, and said the plaintiffs do not intend to file an appeal.
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