Oklahona City Bombing Essay Research Paper The

Oklahona City Bombing Essay, Research Paper

The Government’s Response to the Oklahoma City Bombing

The Oklahoma City Bombing affected many Americans, including the President

of the United States. From the start the White House immediately dispatched

the FBI. The initial reaction was to close the airports, but that would

infringe on civil liberties. Government intervention with this tragedy

would help many victims’ family members cope with the loss of their loved

ones. Presidential response as well as monetary compensation would

attribute to the healing process. Since the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah

Federal Building many government actions have been taken to prevent another

incident like the Oklahoma City Bombing.

President Bill Clinton put aside his own political problems to give the

nation response to this tragedy. President Clinton had to choose his words

with care while speaking to the media. The Waco tragedy was fresh on the

minds of many and all of America would be listening to his reaction to the

situation. Clinton was very angry about the tragedy and said that the

bombers were “evil cowards” and would be treated like “killers,” and he was

so gripped with anger that he wanted to put his fist through the television

screen when he first saw the incident (Carney 66). Even though Clinton was

angry he still dealt with the situation very carefully, knowing that what he

said would affect how millions of Americans would cope with the tragedy.

An act of terrorism is what lead to the Oklahoma City Bombing, this tragedy

happened because someone had different beliefs. What is the government

doing about terrorism. An anti-terrorism bill would give the government an

additional $1 billion to help fight the war against terrorism. By linking

this bill to the Oklahoma City Bombing, Clinton and congress would get this

extra money when the bill was finally enacted into law. Libertarian Party

Chair Steve Dasbach said, “It shows that there is no tragedy that

politicians won’t try to capitalize on to further increase the power of

government.” Desbach also thinks that if any government with the power to

kill their own citizens through the criminal justice system also has an

obligation that no innocent person is ever executed (LP Warns 1). Some say

that the best defense against domestic terrorism is a vibrant, open

political system where no American will feel excluded or voiceless. This

would lead to an American foreign policy that does not interfere in the

affairs of other nations.

This policy would help fight against terrorist like Terry Nichols, Timothy

McVeigh, and the others who may have contributed to the bombing of the

Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Nichols was found guilty for his part in

the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma on April 19, 1995. On this

day 168 people were killed, more than 500 people were injured, and including

the death of eight federal agents. Nichols was convicted for conspiracy and

involuntary manslaughter; he was sentenced for life in prison and was also

acquitted by the jury on the charges of first and second-degree murder

(Oklahoma 2). Even though convicted he wanted the jury and America to

understand that Timothy McVeigh had intended to kill hundreds of people.

U.S District Judge Richard Matasch sentenced Nichols to life in prison for

the conspiracy conviction, and he also received concurrent six-year

sentences for each of the eight accounts of manslaughter (U.S 1).

McVeigh was known to people who knew him as a boy gone bad. He was found

guilty on 11 counts of murder and conspiracy for the 1995 bombing of the

Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. McVeigh was sentenced to die by lethal

injection. If the conviction is upheld on an appeal, it could take three

years (Annin 40). The jurors reached a verdict of death despite McVeigh’s

military record and his boy next-door appearance; they all thought that he

should die. Their votes were unanimous and they had no doubt about his

guilt. To them he was a terrorist not a patriot. Church bells rang across

the city, as the death sentence announcement spread throughout Oklahoma

City. And where the Murrah Federal Building once stood, victims and their

family members gathered to witness a turning point in their tragedy

(Pierce).

Mike Fortier, McVeighs former best friend also played a role in the bombing

and he too admitted to his part in one of “America’s biggest tragedy’s” (U.S

1). Fortier received a reduced sentence, but if tried and convicted he too

could have been sentenced with death. Fortier’s testimony is what helped

convict McVeigh. Fortier shared how McVeighed planned the bombing, he first

mapped out the Murrah building and surrounding area with exact detail

(Annin). He chose this building because it was close to the highway where

he could make a fast get

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