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CNN Live Saturday

Oklahoma City Stunned by Delay of McVeigh's Execution

Aired May 12, 2001 - 16:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: When Attorney General John Ashcroft heard about the FBI paperwork problem, he responded by delaying Timothy McVeigh's execution from next week to next month, and that delay has many upset. CNN's Martin Savidge is in Oklahoma City, and he joins us now with more on that now -- Martin?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donna, news of the delay struck a real blow to the people of Oklahoma City. Like Timothy McVeigh himself, this whole community had been preparing for his execution. Upwards of 200 -- actually, almost 300 family members had planned to watch his death on closed-circuit television at a facility out near the airport, and there were about 10 other victims' family members that were going to be in Terre Haute, Indiana on Wednesday in person to watch him die. All of that now has to be rescheduled.

Paul Howell lost a daughter in that blast. He says whenever the new date is set, he will be in Terre Haute, Indiana.

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PAUL HOWELL, FATHER OF BOMBING VICTIM: It's going to be pretty tough, you know. I don't like to ever see anybody get killed, but this man -- if there's ever been anybody in the world that needs to do it, he's the one that needs to be executed.

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SAVIDGE: News of the delay rolled into Oklahoma on Thursday night. It was really very much like an emotional wave, and it came at a time when the city was in the middle of a sports celebration. Governor Frank Keating explains.

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GOV. FRANK KEATING, OKLAHOMA: Everybody thought, well, this guy has waived his appeals, this guy has confessed, what is this all about? And we were celebrating a central hockey league championship downtown. Everybody was jumping around having a grand time celebrating a city victory for the Oklahoma City Blazers, and then this came up. So it's been a real bad nightmare.

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SAVIDGE: Tomorrow, here in Oklahoma City, as for the rest of the nation, it will be Mother's Day, but it has a very painful meaning in this community. There were 19 children that were killed in the blast, all of them under the age of five. There were also 30 children that were made orphans by the explosion, and 219 children lost as least one parent. It will be a very difficult day, but one of many for Oklahoma City -- Donna.

KELLEY: Marty Savidge in Oklahoma City, thanks.

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