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American Morning

Attorney General to Meet with Families of Oklahoma City Bombing Victims

Aired April 10, 2001 - 09:09   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just a few hours from now, Attorney General John Ashcroft is scheduled to meet with the families of the Oklahoma City bombing victims. Many have expressed a desire to watch next month's execution of convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh, and today's meeting may determine whether they will get that opportunity.

CNN's Gary Tuchman joins us. He is in Oklahoma City with the latest. Gary, good morning.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Will survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing and the family members of the victims get to watch the execution of Timothy McVeigh on closed-circuit television? Well, the man with the power to make that happen is coming here today. Attorney General John Ashcroft will tour this area.

This is the Oklahoma City bombing memorial. This is exactly where the Murrah federal building stood up until May of 1995 when it was imploded, five weeks after the April 19th terrorist explosion. He will tour this area and then meet with about 200 survivors and family members of the victims to discuss the execution of Timothy McVeigh on May 16th.

There are eight spots in the execution chamber for witnesses representing the survivors and these family members. But 250 of these people want to witness the execution. It's in Terre Haute, Indiana, where this is scheduled to take place on May 16th. So these people will ask Ashcroft for the right to have closed-circuit television here in Oklahoma City and/or in Terre Haute. What they'd like is both locations to have closed-circuit.

We are told from the attorney general's office that he is looking favorably at this at point towards that proposal and might have an announcement as early as tomorrow about whether there will be closed- circuit television for more than 200 people who want to view it in these two cities. As we speak, McVeigh awaits his execution in prison at the U.S. penitentiary in Indiana.

Meanwhile, Terry Nichols, the other man convicted of this terrorist bombing and sentenced to life in prison in his federal trial right now is in jail here in Oklahoma City right near the memorial, in sight of the memorial. That red brick building behind me is where Terry Nichols sits right now because he's awaiting a state trial. The date of that state trial here in Oklahoma has not yet been set -- Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Gary Tuchman in Oklahoma City. Gary, thank you.

And CNN will, of course, be bringing you live coverage throughout the day from Oklahoma City. Ashcroft's meeting with the families of the bombing victims is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern, and we'll have the latest developments.

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