Oklahoma Justice: The State Trial of Terry Nichols

The worst homegrown act of terrorism in the nation’s history, the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, resulted in the deaths of 168 men, women, and children. However, the law allowed federal murder charges to be filed only for the deaths of eight federal agents.

Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were found guilty in federal court in Denver, Colorado, in those agents’ deaths. Still, many Oklahomans believed there was unfinished business. McVeigh was executed in 2001 as the lengthy process was under way to bring Nichols to justice in Oklahoma. Nichols had escaped the death penalty at his federal trial. Many believed he deserved to

die and hoped a state jury would agree. This is the story of the controversial decision to proceed with the prosecution of Nichols in state court and the four-month trial in the McAlester,

Oklahoma, courtroom of District Judge Steven W. Taylor.