California man composes song for McVeigh
By Zach Taylor
Tribune-Star
A California man who claims he can control events with a "Wishing Machine" has dedicated a music piece to Timothy McVeigh and plans to have it performed in Terre Haute to comfort the condemned man.
David Woodard of Los Angeles, who has corresponded with McVeigh by letter, wrote "Ave Vitae Atque Vale" for McVeigh. The title of the piece means "hail to life and goodbye."
Woodard's composition will be performed in St. Margaret Mary Church, said the Rev. Ron Ashmore of the church.
McVeigh will be executed by lethal injection at 7 a.m. May 16 in the U.S. Penitentiary, Terre Haute. He killed 168 people and wounded hundreds of others in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Woodard said he plans to lead a group of musicians in the performance of "Ave Vitae Atque Vale" during a vigil in the church on May 15.
"My objective is to ensure that Tim hears it," Woodard said in an e-mail interview.
The piece also is meant to further Pope John Paul II's request that McVeigh be granted clemency, Woodard said. Vice President Dick Cheney rejected the Pope's plea on April 29.
"We must end violence in all forms," Woodard said in a letter to Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles. "The sacredness of human life must prevail in all circumstances. Along with the voice of the Holy Father, I humbly submit this composition as my contribution in promoting a deeper sensitivity to all human life."
Ashmore said the vigil is the appropriate venue for the piece.
"Because this piece is a prayerful meditation in music, we thought that the best place to do that was in the context of prayer," Ashmore said. "And also recognizing that the Holy Father publicly requested clemency and was denied, it is then a support to that request."
The vigil will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature scripture reading, music and prayer. The event, which is open to the public, also will allow time for people to speak about the execution and events surrounding it if they wish, Ashmore said.
"We will have a public vigil service, and we will commemorate obviously Tim McVeigh, whose life will be taken, but also the 168 people who died by his violent choice.
"We believe in the sacredness of all human life, even when the person has done something evil," Ashmore said. "It's done with great sensitivity to those who died in Oklahoma. And it will be done with great sensitivity to Tim. Because it's Tim's life that will be taken this time is why he is highlighted there."
Woodard wrote the piece for McVeigh because he said he feels in part responsible for McVeigh's execution. Woodard said he took seriously an article about McVeigh's desire for a speedy execution, clipped it and put it in his Wishing Machine, a device he said he uses to control events.
"In retrospect, I feel my assumption that the article was not fabricated, or that McVeigh's 'wish' was not in some way coerced, was rash on my part.
"However, whether or not McVeigh's true wish is to be executed, 'Ave Vitae Atque Vale' is primarily intended to comfort and reassure McVeigh while, hopefully, proffering enduring closure to the other victims of the horrible incident."
The Wishing Machine consists of an amplifier with copper plates attached at the input terminals and an antenna at the positive output terminal, Woodard said.
Woodard designs, builds and sells Wishing Machines for a living, he said.
"A wish placed within the plates inevitably comes true," he said.
Woodard said he is a self-taught composer, who has written music since age 10.
The prison denied requests by Woodard to perform the composition on prison grounds.
Woodard then wrote to McVeigh. McVeigh suggested Woodard consider renting a lot across from the prison for a staging ground or having the piece played on the radio. McVeigh also told Woodard to contact Ashmore for help in finding a performance arena.
In a letter to Woodard signed by "T. McVeigh" in what appears to be McVeigh's handwriting, dated April 19, McVeigh describes Woodard as "the first person I've heard of (or from) that has figured me out."
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