The Commercial Appeal from Memphis, Tennessee • 4

A4 THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL MEMPHIS WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 24 1997 Jury findings cast as junior partner Nichols in blast Second-degree murder by contrast is a killing committed with intent but without deliberate prolonged planning experts said Tne killer in other words has murder in mind but only in the instants before and during its commission Joseph DiGenova a former federal prosecutor in Washington said the classic example of a second-degree murder would be a battered wife picking up a knife durini Nonconnah Parkway In preparation for Its official opening to traffic on Monday By Frank Brunl Tha New York Timaa Nawa Sarvtca In finding Terry Nichols guilty of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter but not first- or second-degree murder 'urors essentially decided that le was a lesser if reckless partner with Timothy McVeigh in the chain of events that led to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 legal experts said According to these experts the verdict suggests jurors concluded that Nichols acted in a manner that he should have known could cause death but that killing was not clearly his intention means he had a much less culpable state of mind regarding the homicides" said Kevin McNally a Kentucky lawyer who has defended several federal death penalty cases the jury he engaged in certain actions that were reckless but it a premeditated killing" According to both federal statutes and the instructions that US Dist Judge Richard Matsch gave jurors a verdict of first-degree murder would have meant that jurors found Nichols guilty of killing people willfully deliberately maliciously and with premeditation" Murder would have had to be his plan his aim a goal he envisioned and plotted and made happen in a strategic fashion legal experts explained deliberately wanting to cause a murder for it planning for said David Ruhnke a New Jersey lawyer who has also defended many federal death penalty cases road will then run northward to Paul Barret Parkway to form a northern and eastern outer interstate-type loop for Shelby County Paul Barret construction to Collierville-Arlington is under way but is at least two years from completion Environmental impact studies and engineering work are under way for the Collierville-Arlington realignment and widening Construction is just getting started McIntyre said on a 41-mile segment that will run from Bailey Station across Byhalia Road to US 72 The completion deadline for that segment is mid-2000 Luanne Grandinetti director of public information for TDOT said the state will spend more than $220 million to com- Elete Nonconnah from 1-240 to rS 72 Grandinetti said Nonconnah a portion of Tenn 385 will eventually hook up with a realigned multilane Collier-ville-Arlington Parkway The From Page A1 Open every corner of the intersection and in anticipation of the new segment has begun spreading east along Winchester all the way to Houston Levee Future segments of the parkway will continue an eastward path through Collierville then eventually turn north across US 72 and continue from there not given voluntary manslaughter as an option In his instruction to jurors Matsch defined involuntary manslaughter as a killing that resulted from an act by a defendant that lacked caution" that be a threat to the lives of others" and that was known by the defendant to contain such a threat But while involuntary manslaughter was the least of the charges Nichols faced the guilty verdict that jurors rendered on the count of conspiracy meant that federal prosecutors could continue to push for the death penalty even though such a penalty is now unlikely experts said In that sense experts said jurors were perhaps showing signs of equivocation about how harshly to judge involvement probably compromised" said Marvin Rudnick a former federal prosecutor in Florida who is now practicing law in Pasadena Calif He explained that jurors in holding him responsible only for involuntary manslaughter accepted the premise that Nichols was not in Oklahoma or as intimately involved in the actual bombing as McVeigh But in finding him guilty of conspiracy they deemed him to be partners with McVeigh and doled out a serious conviction DiGenova concurred saying that the jurors seemed to be to show him some mercy on the one hand by finding him guilty of involuntary manslaughter and yet finding him guilty of another count that makes him liable for the death penalty a slightly strange verdict" comfort in the prospects of Nichols getting the death penalty she vowed to testify about the human toll saying: going to introduce the jury to Aaron and Elijah" A rare dissenter was Rudy Guzman who said looks for Nichols to receive the eath penalty brother Randy was killed in the April 19 1995 explosion The relatives placed the blame or credit for Tuesday's verdict on lead defense attorney Michael Tigar The jury will not be able to speak until the penalty phase is over But Coverdale said that a turning point was the dramatic end of the defense summation last little antic when he broke down and cried and said that Nichols is my Kight agreed saying bitterly: needs to team up with Woody Allen They can do theater or the absurd for fun and profit" COMMISSION MEMBERS kin land little in verdict call it By James Brooke Tha New York Timas News Service DENVER After a long and painful vigil the families of the Oklahoma City bombing victims said Tuesday night said that they found little solace in the Terry Nichols verdict was a slap in the faces" said Marsha Kight whose 23-year-old daughter Frankie Merrell was killed in the bombing Her eyes red from crying she blurted out into the winter night: mad very lost the lady I loved more than anybody in the world" Roy Sells said of his wife Leora Lee Checking his emotions Sells added stoically: kind of a slap in the face but not hurt by Nearby Jannie Coverdale shed tears before a sea of microphones very said Coverdale whose two a beating by her husband am stabbing nim to death had to intend to do the act it accidental" DiGenova explained it wasift exactly DiGenova said that manslaughter an even lesser charge concerns an act that does not have death as its goal but is nonetheless careless enough and carries the seeds of enough potential harm that death was always a possibility Ruhnke said that one typical relatively common type of manslaughter case would be that of an irate mother who throws a small child across the room and winds up killing the child didn't intend to cause death but she should have known better" he said Along those lines Ruhnke said another classic manslaughter case would concern an adult who leaves a loaded gun on a coffee table in the proximity of a child who accidentally shoots himself or herself with it These examples pertain specifically to involuntary manslaughter voluntary manslaughter legal experts said concern killings of sudden passion where the murder was more the product of an outburst than an intent The jurors deciding fate were small grandsons Elijah and Aaron were killed by tne truck bomb had more faith in the American justice The relatives who had sat through the eight-week trial were stunned that the jury found Nichols innocent or 10 out of 11 of the capital crimes conspired to build a bomb with Timothy McVeigh what did they think he would do with that Kight asked fighting back tears think irs very unlikely that he will be sentenced to Sells agreed Baying with a slight shake of his head: was premeditated murder It took months to build this bomb" A few feet away Coverdale agreed wholeheartedly think the government proved that Terry Nichols earned out that bombing that Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh conspired for seven months to carry out that bombing" the grandmother said Although pessimistic about WHAT'S AHEAD victims and family members as they heard the verdict under media tents in a driving rain Oklahoma County Dist Atty Bob Macy shook nis head in disbelief as the innocent verdicts were read He said he would seek 160 state murder charges against Nichols for the others who died in the blast am very surprised familiar with the evidence I have a hard time understanding how the jury could reach that verdict Macy said Prosecutors contended McVeigh and Nichols worked side by side to acquire the ingredients and build the 4000-pound fuel-and-fertilizer bomb that destroyed the Alfred Murrah Federal Building on April 19 1995 in a plot to avenge the FBI siege at Waco exactly two years earlier Prosecutors traced the trail of low-budget motels calling-card communiques and coded letters that linked Nichols and McVeigh They introduced evidence that Nichols used an alias to buy 2 tons of explosive fertilizer at a co-op and helped McVeigh steal explosives from a rock quarry in central Kansas in the rail of 1994 They contended Nichols robbed Arkansas gun collector Roger Moore to raise money to live on while they prepared for the bombing The government conceded Nichols was at home in Herington Kan when the bomb went off but accused tinue to hear the federal Ignored evidence The trial begins A hearing to block the Michael Tigar conflict in the and Associated Call reporter Ron Maxey at 529-2544 or address E-mail to maxeygomemphiscom From Page A1 Crime crime reform proposal to the state legislature this year but it quickly encountered difficulty after Democratic lawmakers submitted a competing package of juvenile justice legislation The governor's plan was eventually shelved after legislators criticized it as being unworkable and only a handful of the Democratic proposals making small changes in the law passed Instead of submitting a new package of juvenile crime bills for the 1998 legislative session which convenes Jan 13 the governor created the new commission and charged it to review update and reform the present Tennessee juvenile statutes starting from scratch with the juvenile he told reporters at a year-end press conference Monday Woodall said the work will the complex legal issues that the juvenile justice system is currently facing and bring this increasingly important part of Tennessee law into the 21st Woodall is the longtime prosecutor in Madison Chester and Henderson counties In addition to the 17-member commission of justice system experts the governor named 16 state legislators to serve as adjunct members of the commission and announced that a separate advisory panel will assist the commission with its work The governor's press office said veteran Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Turner will serve on that panel Call reporter Richard Locker at (615) 255-4923 or E-mail him at lockergomemphiscom SHOP TUESDAY MORNING'S NEXT FAMOUS MAKEI CLOSE OUT SALE AND SAVE 5040 OFF RETAIL ON EVERYTHING OW SIOUS ME CUUENllY 0PM 2867 Poplar 6635 Quinn Complete System Orange-Out 3 In Air Conditions Coil 75000 BTU Fsmaco 2000 IMri HMM37JAZ Alp Conditioning A Hooting Wt Suites Ho Us SSSSO 7247 300-0107 45-6500 755-4797 Wines of Fine Spirits i A look ahead at expected developments in the Oklahoma City bombing case: Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh face state trials in Oklahoma Bob Macy the Oklahoma County district attorney said he will file charges after the end of Nichols's federal trial McVeigh's appeal of his federal conviction and death sentence will continue His attorneys are expected to file a brief today An Oklahoma County grand jury will con testimony as it investigates whether government was aware of the plot and of other suspects sentencing phase of federal Monday was scheduled for today seeking verdict with defense attorney contending there was an inherent jury's finding of involuntary manslaughter conspiracy Press Karen Williams General Sessions Court judge and former chairman of the Tennessee Sentencing Commission George Hattaway of Nashville commissioner of the state Department of Services Gary Gerbitz of Chattanooga lawyer former judge and former district attorney general for Hamilton County Bill Stokes of Knoxville lawyer former deputy to the governor for special projects Judge Wayne Shelton of Clarksville Judge Steven Jones of Sullivan County Judge Weber McCraw of Fayette County Andrea Conte of Nashville director of the "You Have the victims' rights group and wife of Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen Sue Cain assistant director of the Nashville legal department and former executive director of the Tennessee Sentencing Commission Martha Yoakum Tazewell Claiborne County public defender Cindy Gass sergeant Knoxville Police Department Charles Traughber of Nashville chairman or the state Board of Paroles This time Stanback was the lucky one just happened to be in my personal truck emerald green If it had been a city truck he would have run out of that gate just as fast as he Stanback stepped out of his truck closed the fence gate got a noose out of the pickup and finally after two years apprehended Lucky The dog was taken to the Memphis Animal Shelter Monday and was to be held three days If no one claims him he will be destroyed said Ren Childress shelter manager The dog appeared in such good condition Childress said that someone must have been caring for him The number at the Memphis Animal Shelter is 362-5310 Liquors mThe Supermarket Benjamin Hooks Bill Gibbons Here are the members of the Commission on Juvenile Justice Reform appointed Tuesday by Gov Don Sundqulst Jerry Woodall of Jackson chairman Woodall a district attorney general has been chief prosecutor in Madison Hender- son and Chester counties since 1982 and was assistant district attorney for seven years before that He served on the Tennessee Sentencing -Commission which rewrote the adult criminal code from 1987 to 1989 and later served as Its chairman Bill Gibbons of Memphis Shelby County district attorney general former Memphis city councilman and former aide to Gov Lamar Alexander Linda Miller of Memphis Shelby County Victims Assistance Center former member of state Board of Paroles Karen Williams of Memphis Shelby County Circuit Court Judge former state representative Benjamin Hooks of Memphis former national executive director of the NAACP former Shelby County Criminal Court judge Barbara Haynes of Good-lettsville a Davidson County Circuit Court judge former From Page A1 Lucky see what it will do and then he takes It was what Lucky did in between the chases that concerned city officials He bedeviled the city by digging up flower beds taking up residence on front porches turning over garbage cans and leading other dogs to bark in the wee hours And Lucky tormented Stan-back 33 lost nights of sleep from the Police Department calling me when somebody com- Elained about a dog said Lucky was more elusive than a winning lottery ticket had pursuits that lasted three Stanback said One day Lucky led authorities from Kroger in west Millington to Easley and Navy in central Millington He backtracked awhile and pursuers lost sight of him for 30 minutes He showed up behind Public Works in southern Millington and trotted beyond the Big Creek levee and out of sight But luck ran out Saturday Stanback happened to-be driving by a residence at Newport and Bill Knight when he spotted the most-wanted log playing with another dog He finally went into a backyard A guy Jhad left his gate From Page A1 Guilty the jury was allowed to consider the lesser charges only if they were unable to find premeditation in -the eight first-degree murder charges From the outset lawyers from the prosecution ana defense had agreed that Nichols 42 was not in Oklahoma City on the day of the bombing ana that it was McVeigh 29 who took the bomb there and detonated it The verdict which came as a winter twilight wrapped the federal courthouse here stunned some families of the victims who clutched handkerchiefs as the verdict was read damn sure not happy about this said Dan McKinney whose wife Secret Service Agent Linda McKinney died in the bombing After the jury was sent home defense attorney Michael Tigar was granted a hearing today to block the verdict contending there was an inherent conflict in the jury's finding of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy As Nichols was led from the court he looked stunned and licked his lips Tigar shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder At the site of the bombing in Oklahoma City a hush settled over a small group of bombing him of helping McVeigh deliver a getaway car to Oklahoma City three days before the bombing and or working with McVeign to pack the bomb inside a Ryder truck on the day before Two prosecution witnesses reported seeing a Ryder rental truck at the Kansas lake where McVeigh and Nichols allegedly built the bomb One man also saw a dark-colored pickup that resembled car Nichols's ex-wife Lana Padilla recalled for jurors two letters Nichols gave her five months before the bombing One detailed how to distribute his assets and the other for McVeigh contained two mystifying phrases: for and on your But lawyers pounded home the idea with the mostly blue-collar jury that the government abused its power and discarded any evidence that fit the theory that McVeigh and Nichols were the culprits They produced nearly a dozen witnesses who were positive they saw a Ryder truck at the lake as much as a week before prosecutors say the bomb was built Defense attorneys also called several other witnesses who reported seeing McVeigh with short burly men during that key week suggesting those sightings matched the description of the mysterious John Doe 2 FEUZ NAVIDAD MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY HAHUKKAH CLOSED CHRISTMAS DAY WE WILL RE OPEH FRIDAY I SATURDAY 191 Highland at Poplar Open 8 am-l 1 pm Monday-Saturday Phone: 458-0929 Fax: 324-3983 American Express VtssMsstsrCsrdDlscovsr Card wwwbustarsAquofScom A I'.