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American Morning

Decision Day for Timothy McVeigh

Aired May 31, 2001 - 10:04   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.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Now the latest on the Timothy McVeigh case. Today is expected to be decision day for the convicted Oklahoma City bomber. McVeigh meeting with his attorneys to decide whether to ask a federal judge to delay his June 11 execution. Our Susan Candiotti is in Terra Haute, Indiana, where McVeigh is being held on death row -- Susan, good morning again.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Stephen.

The motion was typed up on Wednesday. Timothy McVeigh's lawyers have a copy of it in their hands. And in about an hour from now they will meet with their client here on death row at the federal prison in Terra Haute, Indiana. They will ask Timothy McVeigh and they are optimistic that he will sign off on a request for a stay of execution, at the very least arguing, among other reasons, that the lawyers want more time to examine more than 4,000 pages of materials turned over by the FBI just five days before McVeigh's original execution date back on May 16.

Now, these are documents that the Justice Department continues to insist offer no credible evidence that raise any questions about Mr. McVeigh's conviction in the Oklahoma City bombing, which claimed 168 lives. If McVeigh OKs the motion, and his lawyers expect him to, a short time later the action would move to Denver, Colorado, where another lawyer would take that motion and file it with a court clerk who would in turn take it over to trial judge Richard Matsch and it would be up to Judge Matsch to decide what to do next.

He could ask the government for its response and we already know what that will be. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has said that they would vigorously oppose any further delay in McVeigh's June 11 execution. Once the attorneys finish their meeting with McVeigh, they will tell us about what they said to him.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, reporting live in Terra Haute.

FRAZIER: Susan, thank you. We'll look for that a little bit later on.

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